Hexagram 36The Darkening of the Light
Upper : Earth (Kun) - ☷Lower : Fire (Li) - ☲
"The darkening of the light. It is advantageous to be persevering in adversity."
The inverse of Progress. Fire has descended beneath the Earth: the sun is engulfed by darkness. The environment is hostile, governed by folly, paranoia, or malevolence. To display your intelligence or purity now would only incite hatred and place you in mortal danger. You must hide your light under a bushel, appear harmless (even foolish), and preserve your inner flame in secrecy.
"The light has plunged into the earth: the image of the darkening of the light. Thus the noble man lives with the great multitude: he veils his clarity, yet remains luminous."
Adapt outwardly to the prevailing madness without ever yielding inwardly on your profound values.
You are traversing a phase where your values are unrecognized, or you face a toxic parent, boss, or system. The Ego is under attack. Jung would advise you not to exhaust yourself proving your worth to those who are blind. Practice psychic withdrawal. Keep the fire of your Self well hidden, nurture it in secret (meditation, formative art) until the night passes.
It is the information absorbed by a Black Hole, crossing the event horizon. To the external observer, the light has completely vanished. Yet, quantum mechanics (and the principle of information conservation) posits that the light is not destroyed: it is trapped within, in a folded reality, awaiting to be slowly returned in the form of Hawking Radiation.