Worried I gave myself a hernia through straining.

I asked "how do I approach situation" and got hexagram 18.2.3-23

Also due to go out of town and if this is an immediate problem I want to cancel.

Hi mholden1969,
Maybe I'm not the most appropriate to give you counsel about your health problem though the answer you got seems pretty clear. Hexagram 18 shows there is indeed a health problem you must approach with care (18.2) and get some medical treatment (18.3). The hex 23 is probably saying to drop the idea of cancelling your previous plans or the plans themselves. Hope this helps,and I wish you recover from that hernia soon.
Endless

Thank you.
However, since there is a health problem why is the iChing telling me to forget canceling my plans?
Does this mean that I am able to postpone treatment for a short while?

I asked it now
'What is the best course of action to take with this hernia' and I got 55 lines 1 and 4 changing to 15.

I guess this means seek help essentially.

Well in medical matters no one can really tell you not to seek treatment/advice because of a Yi answer.

So revert to common sense. If you are worried seek medical attention.

One problem with this answer is we do not really know on what level to take the 18>23

Sometimes Yi is very plain and literal. I think you mentioned this was about moving your bowels and what a perfect picture of having a poop getting rid of (23) decaying material (18)

So I don't think the answer itself shows anything terribly wrong....if it is just a picture of what happened. However I can't know that for sure so I think you need to seek some medical reassurance. It shouldn't take long, they will likely put your mind at ease in no time.

It is hard with medical questions to assess the scale of the answer. Say I had a mark on my skin and got this answer...well 18>23 might mean I had some weird eczema like thing or it might mean I had melanoma.....either way I wouldn't waste time dwelling on it I'd see a Dr if I was concerned.

I agree with you, Trojina.
I've read a few of your interpretations, and the most of the time they seem accurate.
Have a nice week and also mholden1969, don't waste your health, go and see a doctor !
Endless

Oh I never aim for accuracy, I don't like the word as applied to Yi interpretation. I aim to provide interpretations that are full of bias, subjective ...just how things look to me.

I wasn't disagreeing with your interpretation BTW, you may be right, but scale of answers can be so hard with Yi especially in medical matters.

Oh, that was a demonstration of modesty Yi would be approving :bows:
I think I got what you said, the only thing I'd add is the need of consistency between what Yi says and what we can see in those ideograms, that sometimes can be missunderstood. But of course, as individuals we can see lots of nuances in every single line and hexagram.
Thank you, then !
Endless

It looks like I'll be going to a quick appointment tomorrow.
I asked about it and I received 48.3-29

I'm going to share a personal anecdote about using the Yi for medical advice in the hopes that it will be helpful to you, mholden1969, and maybe to future querents as well.

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, I came down with a set of debilitating but mysterious symptoms. I don't want to be too specific, but I was bedridden and in very bad shape. Doctors diagnosed me with something lousy but non-life threatening, and implied that the worst of it was maybe in my head. Deep down I had the sense, at the time, that they were wrong and actually my life was in grave danger, but I was very young and didn't know how to communicate this to them without seeming attention hungry or daft.

So, I turned to the I Ching. And in my bed, in pain, and very scared, I relentlessly bothered Yi for an answer. In hindsight, the oracle was extraordinarily patient with me! And uncannily consistent. No matter what I asked relating to my illness, I received 52 (Keeping Still) in some permutation, but often unchanging. I was using coins, and out of fear I was somehow influencing the result subconsciously with the way I was throwing, I even sent someone out to buy yarrow stalks for me. It's the only time in my life I've used the stalks-- and they too gave me 52. Over and over. I assumed Yi was reflecting my own situation back at me (I could not get out of bed without great difficulty, and was in excruciating pain), and telling me to take it in stride.

Several months passed and slowly I got better. Eventually I was able to resume school and life, and put it all behind me.

Then, several years later, by chance, while undergoing an examination for something minor, doctors discovered evidence of what had actually been wrong with me that time--and it had indeed been life threatening. I had been misdiagnosed, and I'm very lucky that my body was able to heal itself on its own, as what I had has a high rate of mortality when acute. It's the luckiest I've ever been in my life.

Now, in light of that info, what was Yi saying with 52? Well, the condition I had could have been made worse by movement. So, in a very basic way, I think Yi was telling me "don't move". Also, although 12 (stagnation) in hindsight seems like a more immediately understandable picture of the illness itself, 52 is not far off either.

As soon as I knew what had been wrong with me, what I had survived, and also remembered 52, I felt an extraordinary rush of tenderness and gratitude to the oracle. It had, in the way it saw best, been trying to explain to me what was wrong, and 52 was a crystal clear image of it. But at the time of the actual event, I couldn't understand it. This is key. I lacked the capacity to fully interpret what it was telling me. And for whatever reason, it was not interested in trying to convey to me that I should be seeking out more doctors, a better diagnosis, etc. (And I did after all survive it and heal on my own.)

What I'm trying to convey in sharing this story is that while I trust Yi 100% to communicate regarding an illness, I don't trust myself (or most other querents) to be able to interpret the results with the kind of accuracy that medical emergencies or serious illnesses need.

For that reason, I rarely ask Yi about medical issues now, and when I do, I tread lightly and follow up quickly with a doctor if it seems at all serious. I don't ask Yi, ever, to be the sole determination of a course of action for me medically. mholden1969, I suggest you do the same, especially as I see you've posted more than one question/reading about medical issues on the forum. Good luck!

PS-- As soon as the acute phase of the illness passed, so did the dozens of 52s, and I've rarely received 52 since!

Editing to add: I think Trojina's interpretation of the reading as a very literal response is on point. I agree with it/don't have anything to add directly.

Mulberry, thank you for taking the time to share your story with me.
I'm very glad you got over your ailment and I have to agree that often you don't know what the iChing is telling you until after the fact- then it hits you, how much it was actually telling you.
I do ask Yi frequently about medical questions, and it is often hard for me to sort every time.
Thank you.

Everyone,
I went to the clinic and I do not have a hernia.
Probably just a inguinal strain.

Happy to read !!
So that you don't have to cancel your plans ?