Accepting job offer 12.4

[lexxmexx]

Hello everyone,

I am currently in a dilemma. The company I'm working in had just been acquired by another company. There are rumors that retrenchments might take place in the near future but there are no concrete answers yet. I have a good boss and I love the work here and would like to stay with the company if given a choice.

However, I have just been offered a new job with another company. I am contemplating on whether to quit my current job and accept the offer or stay on and wait for the outcome.

My main concerns are what if I quit and accept the offer, and there are no retrenchments after all, I will be having regrets if the new company is not good. On the other hand, what if I stay on and get retrenched later, will I miss this opportunity to bail out?

I had asked the Iching 2 questions and received answers which I need help in interpretation.

Question 1:
What are my career prospects if I take up the job offer with the new company?
Answer: 12.4 to 20

Question 2:
What are my career prospects if I stay on with my current company?
Answer: 45 (unchanging)

I personally feel that the Iching is telling me not to take up the offer as in hexagram 12 'stagnation' with changing line 4 indicating that bad times are ending soon. Hexagram 20 'contemplation' seems to be telling me to take a step back and let things unfold while I remain in my current company.

As for hexagram 45 'gathering', does it mean that I should not resign and 'gather' with my current colleagues?

Need some advice on whether my interpretations were correct and give me some guidance, if possible.
Thanks in advance ��

 

[Liselle]

Hi Lexxmexx.

That's a real spot to be in.

I have an example of 12.4 I can share. Of course examples are just examples, but happily, mine ends up sounding a lot like what you're thinking anyway.

I'd asked what my attitude should be towards going into work on short notice, if I was asked. It turned out I wasn't asked, but I didn't know that at the time. At first I thought that the "mandate" in 12.4 (at least some translations say "mandate") meant that I had an obligation to go in, but then I read Bradford Hatcher's commentary on 12.4 and decided maybe not.

Here's what he says:

There are higher laws than the kingdom’s, higher mandates and purposes than kings either give or follow. There may never be social pressure to step up or reach up and grasp these. Almost all the rewards are given for being some bland kind of normal, so praise and support will not be pouring in. But deep inside the mammalian brain, a mind wants its social support. Not selling out has a steep price as well. The person of conscience, the one who is able to give or withdraw consent, who claims the right to civilly disobey, who looks more often to the next generations than to the next appointment, is not overwhelmed with rewards. The transformation of humankind is called the great work and not the big fun. But higher purpose is not about gain, it is that you must give and can’t stop. Happiness will measure things elsewhere.

I think he was drawing on the zhi gua, your relating hexagram (20) for this. As you said:

take a step back and let things unfold

It's 20's pair hexagram, 19, Nearing, that means drawing near, taking charge, taking responsibility. The pair is definitely what your cast hexagram is *not*. So if part of your thinking is that taking the new job is the responsible thing to do, maybe not? Probably not?

In my case, my employer ended up closing for the day because of bad weather, so working was a moot point.


Your second reading - this is definitely a guess, but I wonder if "Gathering" could mean that the group will get bigger, not smaller? The new company will "gather" you all in? I can see 45 meaning *more* people, but I can't see it meaning fewer.

 

[Liselle]

Oh you know what, as soon as I post, I have another thought.

I didn't say much about your moving line - which isn't good intrepreting at all - because I really didn't know what it was telling you. But I wonder if it's describing exactly what you asked, what your prospects would be?

Here's Bradford's translation (vs. the commentary I already posted):

"Having higher purpose is not a mistake
But this kind of thing differs from happiness"

I wonder if it's simply telling you that doing the safe thing ("having higher purpose," taking the other job) wouldn't be a mistake, exactly, but you won't be happy?

Especially in conjunction with 45. Maybe exactly as you said:

My main concerns are what if I quit and accept the offer, and there are no retrenchments after all, I will be having regrets

 

[lexxmexx]

Hi Liselle,

Thanks for responding.
I keep having this thought or voice telling me that I should take up the offer because I won't get something as good as this or something along the lines of don't miss this opportunity. I don't know what to make out of this, was it my higher self telling me or my ego/fear messing with me? I had been buying time with the new company and have not responded to them yet.

I tried another couple of readings today hoping to get clearer answers but still couldn't figure out that the Iching is telling me.


Question 1:
What will happen if I don't accept the job offer?
Answer: 12.6 to 45
Hexagram 12 'Obstruction/Stagnation' seems to be telling me not to be tempted by something inferior. Was it referring to the new job offer or the comfort zone of my current company?

Line 6 appears to be that bad times are coming to an end soon. But I still cannot tell if it is telling me to stay or go.

Question 2:
What will happen if I accept the job offer?
Answer: 25.2 to 10

Is it telling me that I can accept the new job offer but be prepared that I should lower my expectations that it might not be an ideal place for me? What does the 'Unexpected' mean in this context?

Actually, I'm more confused now. I have the feeling that the Oracles are telling me not to accept this new job offer but my inner voice kept nudging me to take it....

What should I do?
I am really scared now...

 

[Liselle]

I keep having this thought or voice telling me that I should take up the offer because I won't get something as good as this or something along the lines of don't miss this opportunity. I don't know what to make out of this, was it my higher self telling me or my ego/fear messing with me?

Hi Lexxmexx,

But we consult Yi to nudge our higher self along, and straighten out the little voices in our heads, right?

Question 1:
What will happen if I don't accept the job offer?
Answer: 12.6 to 45
Hexagram 12 'Obstruction/Stagnation' seems to be telling me not to be tempted by something inferior. Was it referring to the new job offer or the comfort zone of my current company?

Line 6 appears to be that bad times are coming to an end soon. But I still cannot tell if it is telling me to stay or go.

Hilary's translation:

'Overturning the block.
Before, blocked.
Afterwards, rejoicing.'

This line sounds to me like straightforward good news. If it was my reading, I'd be delighted.

In order to decide whether it's talking about the new job or your current one, go back to your question, and read your answer as an answer to it.

"What will happen if I don't accept the job offer?"
"If you don't accept the job offer, the block that existed will be overturned and you will rejoice."

Also, notice that your relating hexagram here - 45 - is the same as your very first reading:

What are my career prospects if I stay on with my current company?
Answer: 45 (unchanging)

I'd interpret the repetition as a reminder. And I see no reason to change what I thought before, that 45's telling you the new owners will "gather" everyone together, and won't retrench (if I'm using that word correctly. Here in the U.S. we'd say "won't lay people off" - what I mean is, people will not lose their jobs).

I realize that's the opposite of what often happens in acquisitions, which is why everyone's scared. But I can't for the life of me see hexagram 45 meaning fewer people. It's a gathering, a large group making a big investment in something.

Combine that with 12.6, and I think this is wonderful news for you.

Question 2:
What will happen if I accept the job offer?
Answer: 25.2 to 10

Is it telling me that I can accept the new job offer but be prepared that I should lower my expectations that it might not be an ideal place for me? What does the 'Unexpected' mean in this context?

Line 2 -
'Not ploughing and reaping,
Not weeding cleared fields,
And so then it is fruitful to have a direction to go.'

I think you're right in what you're saying. The new job won't be a disaster, but you won't be happy (I think because you'd end up finding out there were no retrenchments). I still thing that's what the 12.4 was telling you. There's nothing hugely wrong with it; you'd be taking it for high-minded reasons like being a responsible adult, but you won't end up happy.

The 12.6 to 45 (in my opinion) was such good news that I think the second reading was probably a bit unnecessary. It's very natural to ask the pair of questions, but I've seen this happen a few times in my own readings. If Yi solves the entire thing in the first answer, it'll remind me that I really don't have to go on autopilot and ask the second one.

My best guess is that 25.2 to 10 is an indirect answer, more of a fluid conversation than a robotic reply.

The relating hexagram is often "your" hexagram, how you're relating to the situation, how it feels to you. It's often quite recognizable. 10 is saying, "This feels like walking behind a tiger who could eat me."

sound of bells ringing ​

I think that's Yi acknowledging the facts and your feelings: turning down the job offer is not the safe option; it's treacherous and nerve-wracking.

Hexagram 25, and the moving line, is what you actually have to work with. 25 is about not getting entangled, not trying to control things, and recognizing when something is not your responsibility or worry at all. I think that's what Yi's telling you: don't get entangled in this, don't worry about it, don't do all this work. The farmer in line 2 doesn't plow, reap, and weed - and "then it is fruitful to have a direction to go."

I have the feeling that the Oracles are telling me not to accept this new job offer

I agree.

but my inner voice kept nudging me to take it....

I think that's the tiger you're treading behind. "Growwwl," says the inner vicious tiger. "You and your job and your happy life will be such a tasty snack " (I think Yi's telling you this tiger doesn't have any teeth, and has been declawed, poor thing.)

I am really scared now...

Perfectly understandable. It's scary - it just is. I'd be terrified, too. And it's really hard to put this much trust in words from a book/oracle, and suspend nagging disbelief. This is not the same as a memo from the home office declaring, "There will be no retrenchments!"

And interpretations from strangers on the internet are even more not like a memo from the home office. Egads.

I think you'll have to decide whether you trust Yi, and trust yourself to understand its message, and whether you're willing to walk behind the tiger for a while. It would be perfectly understandable to decide it's too much, too guess-y, and too scary.