Answer:
Hi MP
I'm afraid I can't really sort out the original reading for you, not knowing the background or indeed what your original question was! But perhaps I can help with the relationship between 41 and 42. They're a very close pair of hexagrams, neither possible without the other, like two sides of one coin. This can make it very difficult to sort out their meanings. Both of them mean giving, but 41 is a gift that moves upwards: 'give up, give away', like an offering to heaven. 42 is the response to this, coming down like a gift from heaven. This isn't just represented in the logic of the lines - with the fourth line of Increase 'given' to the bottom line - but also in the original ideograms. Decrease (41) shows a hand pouring out a libation from a sacred vessel; Increase (42) shows something pouring into a pot.

So 42 gives, 41 gives up; 41 pours out, 42 pours in. As a prediction, 42 often simply means material gain, while 41 would mean a loss that would be compensated on some higher level. But as advice, 42 can also mean 'give' - 'give yourself wholeheartedly, without any reservation or restriction'.

Increase is much easier to live through than decrease! It's simply a matter of adapting to the flow and not trying to limit it. But 41 deals with offerings and sacrifices that feel, at first, like deprivation with no reward. (Why should you pour out food and drink in an offering when you might not have enough for yourself?) It's not surprising that the Image for 42 just speaks of being morally responsive and open to improvement, whereas the wise disciple of 41 has to 'curb resentment, block desires'.

As to the question of which way is 'up' - I think that the I Ching leaves that to your own interpretation! Wilhelm even offers the example of the individual paying taxes to the 'higher' state - 'up' in the sense of a social hierarchy. Not, perhaps, a very popular view. Or perhaps egotism is being 'given up' to create space for the soul.

In your original question, maybe Decrease was a harsh comment on a party where even more is given to those who already have a great deal. Or perhaps it could have been a suggestion to you that even though you wouldn't enjoy the party, it would be worthwhile in some higher sense. It's your reading: over to you.

Any DIY questions? Send them here, and they will get answered!

™Book Review: The Ta Chuan—

Karcher's previous translations have concentrated on the divinatory parts of the text, so didn't include the Great Treatise (the I Ching's fifth and sixth Wings). This book remedies the omission - and it is a joy to read. If you have already worked through the Great Treatise in Wilhelm's version, along with his concentrated, intellectual commentary, you may find this quite surprising. To begin with, Karcher provides an extensive introduction setting the Great Treatise in the context of ancient divination, describing it not in terms of metaphysics but rather of 'helping spirits' and 'symbols that connect you to the spirit world' - the effect is to bring it back from the realm of abstruse philosophy to real divinatory experience. At least, that's how it worked for me.

The main body of the book consists of a poetic, free translation of the Ta Chuan, section by section, interspersed with Karcher's own lucid and profound commentary. Because he leaves the chapters intact, you get a strong sense of the natural shape of the work.

What in Wilhelm's version reads: 'Going back to the beginnings of things and pursuing them to the end, we come to know the lessons of birth and of death. The union of seed and power produces all things...'

somehow becomes in Karcher's hands:

'The Sage People who made Change
went to this great beginning
and returned to trace the ends of things. Through Change
they offer us the knowledge of death and birth.
Listen: The seed we see in a symbol
unites with body energy
through the Earth's power of realising.
This is what creates the beings.
A being is born from a symbol.'

Finally, and not least important, this is a beautifully presented book: a high-quality hardback, with plenty of white space, and beautiful photographs of nature, from flowering grasses to breaking waves. I still couldn't take it all in at one sitting, but I will enjoy going back to it.

You can order this now from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

™Discussion point—

Last month's survey was a general one about all kinds of divination, and asked about the effects of personal emotional bias. There seems to be a wide range of opinion and experience out there, but the balance of opinion seems to be that readings by/for someone else are more reliable.
If you missed it, sorry the survey is closed now, but the debate is very much alive: click here to go to it.

This month's survey: Which method of consulting is best?
This is not such a 'general interest' survey as some I've done in the past, so if you use the I Ching yourself, then please, I need your input! If the response to this one is low, I'll stick to more general topics in future.
(As always, if there is something you would like to see a survey on, let me know and I will set it up.)

There are two ways to vote this month:

• Visit the survey at the site (and see the results)
• Or easy two-click email voting (no need to be online, just click and send the blank email.):
  What method do you most often use?
• Yarrow stalks
• Three coins
• Two coins
• Six or eight coins (always generating one moving line)
• Marbles or beads
• Computer
• Other
(If 'other', please include a note about what you use!)

I've chosen this topic in response to a suggestion from one of last month's voters - thank you, whoever you are. And as usual, you will also find a page at the I Ching Community devoted to the topic, though this time I've started it myself:

"As you'll know if you've read my 'yarrow or coins' page, I have never been attracted to drawn-out rituals: I know they work well for some people, but not for me. Or so I thought..."

Read the rest, and share your views, here

™How you can help—