THE I CHING
Ancient Chinese Spirtual Practice

Horst was fascinated by all forms of spirituality, but one he continually went back to was the I Ching, or the Chinese Book of Changes. Early on, it was used as an oracle to predict the future, but over the centuries it acquired deep layers of philosophical meaning. It predates both Confucianism and Taoism, but was incorporated into both, with the result all three were improved.

Horst became aware of the I Ching through Jung’s writings, so he considered it part Taoism requiring Lao Tzu’s writings for true understanding. Often you could find Horst's' small copy of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching sitting nearby.

The Tao and I Ching are based on the concepts of Yin and Yang. These are ancient Chinese concepts that describe the universe as the interplay of opposites. Yin and Yang were originally based on Male and Female, but evolved into the archetypal paradigm of opposites, key symbols in a universal principle.

Occasionally, Horst used the I Ching as an oracle for important questions in his life. He had a set of Yarrow sticks he used to randomly select one out of 64 possible hexagrams. Each hexagram has an enigmatic description in the I Ching, but a proper interpretation of these is required to understand the prediction.

A hexagram is an icon or glyph made up of 6 horizontal bars that are either solid or broken. Each hexagram has a name, and a description inspired from the interplay of Yin and Yang within its pattern. Here is Hexagram number 24,



This hexagram is described as Returning or The Turning Point and is incorporated into pattern of windows in his painting Return. Below are three paintings containing explict hexagrams.
Return
Boy on Ladder
Girl in Garden

There are other paintings where a hexagram is more subtlely suggested rather than explicitly rendered. Regardless, Horst intended the hexagram only to compliment the meaning in the painting, not dominate it. In Girl in Garden he mixes Judeo-Christian symbolism of the Garden of Eden with the I Ching. In the end, Horst tended to dislike obvious allegories, so he only painted a few of these. More importantly, he had far too many other ideas and felt this one was done.