40.2 (and 57.2,4)

[el_2]

Hi all

Yesterday I cast a hexagram for the day asking something like "what will the day be like as regards personal matters (not professsional issues) and what I needed to do in order to make the most of it" and got 57.2,4 (relating hexagram 33 I think - maybe I'm wrong). I think I understood the answer fairly well (although not entirely).

So later that day I enquired more specifically on 57.2 ("what were the hidden issues I needed to deal with, what lies under the bed so to speak") so that I'd be able to move on to 57.4 (catch 3 prey?). I got 40.2 relating hex 16. This is a rather more straightforward hexagram than many in the Yi. It talks about the beginning of deliverance, release from tension etc. (describes the situation and is encouraging if not positive) and there's some specific advice in line 2 (something I have to deal with promptly, if I got it right).

Although I feel I understood what the answers were about to a certain extent, I'd appreciate it if I could get some additional feedback from anyone who'd like to offer something. I mean, "three foxes" (40.2)? And "three kinds of prey" (57.4)? All you priests, diviners, wizards (57.2) throw any comments you feel like. I'll sort them out despite the confusion. It says so in the oracle.

[By the way, it seems I'm on a self-development phase with the Yi because as I noted in another thread I got 18.3,5,6 for the month of May re. self-development or self-improvement and 20.2,4 when asking what pattern in my behaviour I needed to change. But the thread here is on hexagrams 40 and 57].

Hope my post isn't too confusing.

el_2

[getojack]

What are the issues you have to deal with? Issues of conformity to the group... how should you deal with the issues? By getting help from intermediaries (57.2)... then you will successfully accomplish your goal (57.4). How best to get help from intermediaries in order to accomplish your goal? (your 2nd question)... Using the centered balance of 40.2, you can solve your personal issues in 57... Using 3 foxes to catch 3 prey... a very symmetrical answer.

[el_2]

"Issues of conformity to the group". I hadn't thought about it this way but in a sense you're right. I didn't see that in 57. I wonder where that comes from.

As for the symmetrical answer, I'm amazed at how apposite the answers I get are when I have formulated the question in the right way -at least the right way for me. Whenever I'm not sure if I have asked the right question, one I feel that the Yi would answer (I mean depending on how I approach the oracle), I tend to get very confused answers and usually with too many lines moving.

I was wondering Hexagram 40, or 40.2 more specifically, also implies that I'm on the verge of overcoming whatever is that I wish to overcome and that I just haven't realised yet that I'm at that point. I mean it's far more optimistic than I expected. I thought that there would be loads more work to do, that a hexagram that would present me with more difficulties would come up.

Thank you for your input.

el_2

[getojack]

"Issues of conformity to the group". I hadn't thought about it this way but in a sense you're right. I didn't see that in 57. I wonder where that comes from.


It comes from Thomas Cleary's translation and the original meaning of Xun, which is something along the lines of "obey, be submissive". Xun is the trigram Wind, which when doubled, forms hexagram 57. Wilhelm translates xun as penetration in line 2, while Cleary translates it as conformity.

[el_2]

Thanks for your input.

While there's no way to verify it (because the answer I got was not actually predicting a possible outcome but was rather advisory), as I said before, Cleary's translation and the matter of "conformity to the group" makes sense. I don't think the answer the Yi is giving can be reduced to that but it certainly is a significant aspect of the situation.

el_2