inverse answers on a series of questions

[linerider]

Hi, I'm new to this forum but I've been studying the i ching for a while now. I look forward to reading your insights into the hexagrams and texts here.

To get a grasp on a situation I often ask a series of related questions from different angles. I often get responses that are related, in various ways: the answer may be the same as the 'future' in different questions, or inverse or opposite hexagrams can come up as I follow my line of questioning.
I'll phrase my question to you in the language of the i ching and hopefully you will understand what I'm getting at... Should I interpret inverse hexagrams referencing a specific situation more like 'before completion' or like 'opposition'? That is, would the hexagrams imply my line of reasoning is on the right track (but maybe not there yet) or do they indicate more of a polarity (i.e, no)?


Thanks,
Caleb

[trojan]

:confused:

[rosada]

The I Ching specifically tells us in hexagram 4 that if we ask a second question before having processed the answer already given, it is importunity and that if we importune the I Ching will give no information.

[trojan]

Eh :confused: now thats two posts I don't understand

[rosada]

Hexagram 4
Youthful Folly

THE JUDGEMENT

At first oracle I inform him.
If he asks two or three times it is importunity.
If he importunes, I give him no information.

[bradford]

Hi-
there are a couple of kinds of opposites in the Yi
There's reverse, where the trigrams are switched
There's opposite, where every line is different
and there's Inverse, the upside down versions that
you are referring to.
For me these are like different points on time cycles
that we go through. The Yi itself deals with these,
and sometimes points out that they aren't opposites.
The texts of Decrease and Increase may be the best
example of this. They are interconnected in time.
So for me it's like Ecclesiastes: A time to be born, a
time to die, a time to reap, a time to sow,

[linerider]

Thank you bradford I knew someone would understand what I'm getting at.

I guess if you don't agree with my premise the question won't make much sense. If you're interested keep reading and I'll try not to ramble.

If I want to know about a situation I'll ask the oracle, "what is the state of ___?" In any situation there are many things in different, changing states. So if I want to know what my day will be like tomorrow, why can't I keep asking about different parts of my day?
The question in my original post now arises: how do I interpret hexagrams that appear to be related, even if the questions relate only superficially?
Example:
I ask what to expect from lunch tomorrow and get 41>4. I ask about my health tomorrow and get 4>42. Can I assume that my lunch and health will be related somehow? How would you interpret that?

Thanks again :)
Caleb

[bradford]

Example:
I ask what to expect from lunch tomorrow and get 41>4. I ask about my health tomorrow and get 4>42. Can I assume that my lunch and health will be related somehow? How would you interpret that? Thanks again :) Caleb


Good question. I think I'd use the word interrelated instead of related.
As in stitched together into a bigger thing and working in both directions.
As in your example, try and find a way to combine these that puts the
two "superficially" related things into a larger, whole picture, or else look for
words that are repeated in both texts, something that they have in common.
In Tarot, sometimes the message is not in the individual cards but in the
larger patterns, like maybe you have a bucket load of swords or trumps;
In astrology, if Taurus and Libra keep coming up, maybe that is pointing
to Venus, who rules them both. With patterns, try stepping back to get
a bigger picture of things - incorporate the inverses into a resolved
paradox or a higher truth.

[sparhawk]

The Chinese mind, at the time of the conception of the Yijing, and pretty much to the present day, was geared towards "correlative thinking" and cyclic causality. IMO, even though the answers we derive from the Yi appear to be acausal, they show an image from above of the situation at hand whereby the subject can glean exit strategies and paths to follow. Since correlation seems to be the operative word, I believe the sequence of the questions has a bearing in the meaning of the answers we obtain. I would keep that in mind...

[stewlsa]

Being pragmatic if you get food poisoning it would affect your health (LOL)

[linerider]

Thanks for your advice.
I hate taking notes on the YI or journaling but maybe drawing some patterns and views from above will help me relate them... I'm a visual thinker.

p.s. Thanks bradford, for your body of work- I use your translation of the Yijing all the time, with Wilhelm around as occasional backup. My only question is why is there no Paypal-donate link on your website?

[bradford]

My only question is why is there no Paypal-donate link on your website?

That's an interesting idea. I ought to investigate,
I've mentioned being willing to accept donations and given an address,
but only a couple of checks have trickled in over the years. It is a lot
of work to give away free, and I still need to eat whilst scholaring.
The best contributions have been constructive feedback and correction of
errors, one set by a professional proofreader who found hundreds of little
mistakes, and several by other poets and scholars with fine points of
translation. Been paid pretty well in that currency at least.

[hilary]

Line Rider asks really good questions, especially the last one. Paypal donate buttons are a very simple copy-paste job; every site with a colossal great free Yijing book should have one.

[bradford]

Line Rider asks really good questions, especially the last one. Paypal donate buttons are a very simple copy-paste job; every site with a colossal great free Yijing book should have one.

Done, finally. It would be sweet if that was the kind of good idea that I'll kick myself for not having had earlier. Thanks for the tip.

[hilary]

And I thought I had the web's best-hidden donations link. No longer. I am - yet again - outclassed.

[heylise]

I ask what to expect from lunch tomorrow and get 41>4. I ask about my health tomorrow and get 4>42. Can I assume that my lunch and health will be related somehow? How would you interpret that?

Lunch tomorrow: you don’t know yet what you will eat (4), but it would be wise to eat sparingly (41). Hmm, giving an answer like this feels a lot like kicking in an open door.

Health tomorrow: it will be good (42) and the best thing you can do is to be 4 in your mind. Ever did? Feels nice! And absolutely as if it is good for your health.

Relation between the two: if you want something to be good, you usually have to economize on something else. Good health, diminish eating. Good partner, diminish egoism. Good mood, diminish wishes. No opposite things, but complementary.

LiSe

[dobro]

Brad gon' be rich now.

When come back, bring pie.

Mmmm...pie!