Friday, January 1, 2010

New Year's Hexagrams for 2010


For the past 40 years I have not forgotten to cast my hexagrams on New Year's Day, and today I received 14. Possession in Great Measure (大有, Da you) changing (in the 2nd, 4th and 5th lines) to 37. The Family (家人Jia ren). No. 37 I shall have to think about further, but No. 14, the defining hexagram, could not be better:

"Da you indicates that there will be great progress and success. The weak line has the place of honour, is grandly central, and (the strong lines) above and below respond to it. Hence comes its name of Da You (Having What Is Great). The attributes are strength and vigour with elegance and brightness. [How cool is that!] (The ruling line in it) responds to (the ruling line in the symbol of) heaven, and (consequently) its action is (all) at the proper times. In this way (it is said to) indicate great progress and success."

Concerning the changing fifth line, the oracle says that the fifth SIX, divided, shows the sincerity of its subject reciprocated by that of all the others. "Let him display a proper majesty, and there will be good fortune. His sincerity serves to stir and call out what is in their minds. The good fortune springing from a display of proper majesty shows how they might (otherwise) feel too easy, and make no preparation (to serve him)." Richard Wilhelm puts it a bit more succinctly: "Insolence must be kept in bounds by dignity."

I Ching has never counseled me to majestic behavior before, and I think it is not exactly my natural comportment, so I shall have to study this further as well.

1 comment:

  1. I got Hexagram 13 - T'ung Jen (Fellowship with Men) with changing lines to Hexagram 19 - Lin (Approach): There will be great progress and success, while it will be advantageous to be firmly correct. In the eighth month there will be evil. The things least apparent, those below and behind, are embodied by the lower trigram Li (Fire), which is transforming into Tui (Lake). As part of this process, brightness and warmth are giving way to joy, pleasure, and attraction.
    I'm ready for it - even if there is going to be evil. There is always evil but there is also often a lack of joy and pleasure. So not a bad reading at all!

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