Crowley: Use all thine energy to rule thy thought: Burn up thy thought as the phoenix. Hope, unexpected help, clearness of vision, realization of possibilities, spiritual insights, with bad aspects, error of judgement, dreaminess, disappointment. (BT p. 59)

This conjunction of kua and card is fascinating in the number and quality of correspondences. What is wonderful to contemplate is the depth of sameness that these two symbol systems manifest. The fact that two cultures, separated by time and distance as great as those of ancient China and our own, can speak, using similar symbols and imagery, about a subject as arcane as communication with the divine source.

The first evidence for the identity of the card and kua comes from the imagery that Crowley and the authors of the I Ching have used to illustrate the concepts in their card and kua.

Crowley: She(the woman on the card) is represented with two vases, one pours water, a symbol of light, upon herself, the other upon the earth. This is a glyph of the economy of the universe. It continually pours forth energy and continually reabsorbs it. It is the realization of perpetual motion, which is never true of any part, but necessarily true of the whole. (BT p. 39-40)

Wilhelm: (kua 31) The mountain lake gives of its moisture to the mountain; the mountain collects clouds, which feed the lake. Thus their forces have a reciprocal influence. The relation of the two images shows how this influence comes about: it is only when a mountain is empty at its summit, that is, deepened into a hollow, that a lake can form. (p. 542)

The goddess of "THE STAR" is cognate with the lake of kua 31; her upper vase and its water are cognate with the clouds which fill the lake; her lower vase and its water are cognate with the streams and springs of the lake which nourish the mountain; which is cognate with the mound of crystals upon which the goddess rests.

Crowley speaks of energy relations in the physical world while Wilhelm talks about human relations in the social realm. In actuality both images describe the same process. Crowley is using the concept of perpetual motion to illustrate an attribute of nature's wisdom, which is - to give all things their chance to be. It is recommended by Crowley that we should imitate this characteristic of nature by frequently clearing the mind of disfunctional and antiquated ideas and theories. The call to "burn up thy thought as the Phoenix" is an appeal to remain open to the many, as yet unrealized, possibilities of existence. This is exactly the same advice given by the I Ching through kua 31. Crowley elaborates on his symbolism and in doing so demonstrates this other level of meaning.

Crowley: The upper, golden vase represents- " ... the eternal renewal of the categories, the inexhaustible possibilities of existence.", the lower, silver vase represents- " ... the immortal liquor of her life." (BT p. 109) As the Great Mother she pours this upon the "ABYSS." (BT p. 110)

I must first point out that kua 62 is a "big abyss." The structure of this kua is the same as the trigram "THE ABYSMAL"
with all of its lines doubled.

The water of the upper vase is symbolic of the vast pool of information which is as yet untapped by humanity. As the recipient of a portion of this information, the superior person is called upon to dispense it for the nourishment of all people; this is the "immortal liquor" of his life. He is prepared for receiving messages from the divine source through the meditation and yoga techniques outlined in trump VI, "THE LOVERS." The body and mind are trained to handle this heady input in such a way as to insure its timely and accurate transmission to others.

Wilhelm: (kua 62) The structure of the hexagram gives rise to the idea that this message is brought by a bird. (p. 240)

The bird of kua 62 is cognate with the phoenix of Crowley.

To summarize: The picture on Crowley's card is similar, in essence, to the image associated with kua 31. The phoenix is cognate with the bird represented by kua 62. Kua 62 is also cognate with Crowley's "ABYSS" by virtue of its structural identity with the trigram, "THE ABYSMAL."

All of these symbols and the images they make up are designed to illustrate a very basic and important principle of the mystic and occult way of knowing. In this regard both the imagistic and conceptual content of the kua are in complete agreement with the trump.

Crowley: Use all thine energy to rule thy thought: burn up thy thought as the phoenix. ... clearness of vision ... spiritual insights ...

Kua 31, line 4(b): ... THOUGHTS GOING HITHER AND THITHER IN AGITATION: BY THIS ONE SHOWS THAT ONE HAS YET NO CLEAR LIGHT. (p. 544)

Wilhelm: (kua 31) Confucius says of this line: "What has nature of thought and care? In nature all things return to their common source and are distributed along different paths; through one action, the fruits of a hundred thoughts are realized. What need has nature of thought, of care?" (p. 544)

Wilhelm: (Ta Chuan chapter V. p. 338-339) In this explanation of the nine in the fourth place in hexagram 31, Hsien, INFLUENCE (bk. III), a theory of the power of the unconscious is given. Conscious influences are always merely limited ones, because they are brought about by intention. Nature knows no intentions; this is why everything in nature is so great. It is owing to the underlying unity of nature that all its thousand ways lead to a goal so perfect that it seems to have been planned beforehand down to the last detail.

Kua 31, The image: A LAKE ON THE MOUNTAIN: THE IMAGE OF INFLUENCE. THUS THE SUPERIOR MAN ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO APPROACH HIM BY HIS READINESS TO RECEIVE THEM.

Wilhelm: (kua 31) The image counsels that the mind should be kept humble and free, so that it may remain receptive to good advice. People soon give up counseling a man who thinks that he knows everything better than anyone else. (p. 123)

This is essentially the same concept that Crowley terms "the eternal renewal of the categories." The common theme of the trump and kua 31 is an encouragement for the destruction or abandonment of antiquated ideas through the process of renewing the content of one's thought.

Here is what Gerd Ziegler says in his book, "TAROT MIRROR OF THE SOUL: Handbook for the Aleister Crowley tarot", regarding trump XVII "THE STAR":

"... The power of the inspiration you receive gives wings to your soul and lets the apparently impossible become manifest in marvelous ways. A person lead by this wisdom exudes such a quality of being, such a radiation, that other people are drawn as if by a magnet. ... Enthusiasm may become fanaticism, inspiration may become illusion. ... The butterflies (on Crowley's card), symbols of transformation, indicate that your own view of things will change and become liberated from the bonds of old conditioning." (p. 49-50)

Continuing his explanation of line 4 in kua 31, Wilhelm says: "In the two succeeding sections the same thought is applied to the man who, through supreme concentration, so intensifies and strengthens his inner being that mysterious autonomous currents of power emanate from him: thus the effects he creates proceed from his unconscious and mysteriously affect the unconscious of others, attaining such breadth and depth of influence that they transcend the individual sphere and enter the realm of cosmic phenomena." (p. 339)

I Ching, Ta Chuan chapter V para. 3 (p. 338): ... THUS THE PENETRATION OF A GERMINAL THOUGHT INTO THE MIND PROMOTES THE WORKING OF THE MIND. WHEN THIS WORKING FURTHERS AND BRINGS PEACE TO LIFE, IT ELEVATES A MAN'S NATURE.

para. 4: WHATEVER GOES BEYOND THIS INDEED TRANSCENDS ALL KNOWLEDGE. WHEN A MAN COMPREHENDS THE DIVINE AND UNDERSTANDS THE TRANSFORMATIONS, HE LIFTS HIS NATURE TO THE LEVEL OF THE MIRACULOUS.

Ziegler and Crowley mention the possibility of being carried away by the force of new ideas from the primal source, and warn of the dangers inherent in losing one's perspective.

Crowley: With bad aspects, error of judgement, dreaminess, disappointment. (Ziegler: fanaticism and illusion).

Wilhelm: (kua 62) The Chinese word kuo (part of the name for kua 62) cannot be translated in such a way as to render all its secondary meanings. It means to pass by, and then comes the idea of excessiveness, preponderance; in fact, it means everything that results from exceeding the mean. The hexagram deals with transitional states, extraordinary conditions. (p. 704)

Kua 62, Commentary on the decision: ... THE FLYING BIRD BRINGS THE MESSAGE: IT IS NOT WELL TO STRIVE UPWARD, IT IS WELL TO REMAIN BELOW. GREAT GOOD FORTUNE. STRIVING UPWARD IS REBELLION, STRIVING DOWNWARD IS DEVOTION. (p. 705)

Wilhelm: (kua 62) In exceptional times exceptional measures are necessary for reestablishing the norm. The point here is that the time demands a restraint that would appear to be excessive. (p. 705)

The whole of this kua describes the proper attitudes and behaviors for handling the inspirations and influences that one has received. Helpers are mentioned just as "unexpected help" is mentioned by Crowley. A plan is given regarding the proper means to implement the insights gained through kua 31. Generally, it counsels against various forms of fundamentalism and fanaticism. The recipient of messages from the divine source or, in psychological terms, the unconscious, must not try to strive higher than is reasonable given that one still must live and work in the material and social realms. If one tries to fly too high and thereby lose touch with reality, failure is the most likely result.