Egyptian writing evolved from pictographs (hieroglyphs: 'sacred carvings') through hieratic (priestly shorthand) to demotic (popular script). Each stage was more abstract, faster to write, and more widely accessible. The same progression happened in China: oracle bone pictographs → bronze inscription → seal script → regular script. And in the I-Ching itself: concrete images (lake, mountain, thunder) → abstract principles (joy, stillness, arousal) → binary notation (yin/yang lines). Hex 22 (Grace) is the pictographic stage: mountain with fire below, beauty that catches the eye. Hex 57 (The Gentle) is the demotic stage: wind that penetrates everywhere, influence through subtlety rather than spectacle. The pattern repeats across every civilization: start with pictures, end with abstractions. The question the grimoire asks: what comes after abstraction? Is there a stage beyond symbol?