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Yijing Cartography

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deflatormouse

Guest
This is probably too ambitious for right now. I don't really know if I should make this a blog post instead or what, but just so you know, I'm liable to stop writing mid-sentence at whatever stage of completion, and come back to finish it later.

Um. Relationship readings. I know the title says 'Yijing Cartography' but just bear with me a second. Because one of the most popular readings that I've seen a lot of people do- "she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not...", like flower divination (and I actually have a really good way to do those readings, and its a lot less headachey than the Yijing: You take a flower, and you go, "she loves me, she loves me not" until you run out of petals).

So this is, you know, another way of doing a relationship reading. Or it could apply to any situation, but the first time I did this it was a relationship reading. Because as some of you may already know, I am... I'd like to have a boyfriend.

So I started doing "timeline" readings at first, on the situation. Because with my ordinary readings, I was struggling with the timing. So I started asking Yi, "where am I on the timeline?" With regard to finding a partner, or specific relationships. I don't remember all the specifics, but I cast a 46.6 about the timing of a courtship. The way I was thinking about these readings, that was meant to be like, a two-dimensional, linear timescale. And Yi seemed to be playing along- I had one changing line on every single timeline reading I'd attempted, no more, no less, so it was easy to visualize a 'pinpoint'. But with the 46.6, my very first thought is that I actually have no idea where I'm going, where I am, let alone when. Naturally, I asked for a map.

"Could I take a look at the area map, please?"
"7 unchanging."

Immediately, it was like a really brigt floodlight switching on. "The Army??? That's not even close to where I- OH. OHHHHH." I'd been thinking about a boyfriend, and what I realized then was that in order to make hexagram 13, I would need every single line to change. I was actually as far away from a Fellowship With Man as I could possibly be. I was rigid and anonymous, and other things one might associate with the army and not with having a boyfriend; there may be a need to disarm, to stop thinking in terms of a conquest. But it also suggested to me something much more interesting: That my "map", what I'd asked for, wasn't the 7 I cast, it was the entire table of the hexagrams. The way to read the map I'd been given was not by my usual process of conceptual analysis, or not entirely. It was by comparison of the hexagram figure I'd cast to other hexagram figures that I would have preferred to cast, identifying the bypasses, backroads and stopovers and following them to a more hospitable location. The 7 was just my immediate area, the "you are here". But getting to 13 from here is gonna be... It's gonna be really hard, maybe impossible. For that to happen, there are a lot of other things that have to happen first maybe. Anyhow, it probably isn't going to happen very soon. Even 53, where I vaguely thought I was going, is lookin' kinda far away. New plan.

What are some more realistic destinations I could travel to from here? Well, there's 8. I only need two lines to change to get 8. Starting with that second line, which is starting to look like a roadblock itself. There's 16, my elephant, deep comfort (I was a "twice exceptional" kid with slow processing speed, I posted about the connection to hexagram 16 before, but I had been hoping at one time to find another "elephant"). 2, 45... Hmmm... Maybe if I add a stopover to the itinerary, it opens up a few more options. Again, that second line is gonna be my step one. Drummer in the army? Not on the front lines, you know, not flinging myself at potential boyfriends. Banging a drum in the middle, the guy next to me probably feels pretty safe. Except, hang on... There's an even better choice than any of those. In fact, I think it's exactly where I want to be, more so than the 13 I had in mind initially. Very close to someone. Close. And I was almost there. You might even say "adjacent". And the nearest road is actually the one that goes there. Excellent.

So if I was going to travel down 7.1 towards 19... Something tells me I should travel on foot, pace myself, try to act more like a sane person, maybe even blend in. Not necessarily conformity, or anonymity. But keep pace with the others. Plural. Being one of a crowd. If I want to pick a boyfriend out of a crowd, maybe step one is to find the crowd, and join their procession. Okay, we're off to see the Wizard.


More later (or never).
 
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deflatormouse

Guest
(In the next installment, deflatormouse joins forces with local activist groups. And asks for another map. He still doesn't have a boyfriend.)
 
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maggie may

Guest
Hi,

I recently wrote a blog about these relationship questions. My late husband, a guitar player and singer, used to say before every song he performed "This is a song about a woman." We could say the same about many readings...a song about a woman (or a man).

I am a geography major and my father was a professor of Geography. Don't ask me to name the capitals. I cannot. Cartography is about making a model of spatial relationships. My father would say that neatness counts in making maps, because accuracy is not really possible. You cannot take a sphere and accurately portray distance on a flat surface. It is taking 3D to 2D. That is why there are different projections (ex: Mercator).

It seems like you switched in spatial relationships to time relationships. He (your mate) could be near in space but not in time or vice versa. Is it possible to have one map for both ideas? Add to that you are speaking of Yi cartography where there is the element of consciousness. How close am I to my mate in my attitude or my readiness? That would be a pretty cool map.

H7 is interesting in that it is commonly associated with war or the troops. It is the image of water under the earth. This is another thing inherently difficult to map. It would be helpful if we could map all the underground water sources. Cartography and map making has historically been one of the most valued skills in war time. We need to know where is the enemy, how can he get to us, how can we hide or sneak up on them, where are the weaknesses, the escape routes, etc. Knowing the terrain is vital. But it could be as simple as you go until you see an apple tree by grandma's house, then veer right until you see the mountain shaped like a boob. Maps contain signs of the route you are seeking.

Maybe the Yi was simply telling you that a map of consciousness, time and distance is not possible or would be misleading. Just when you think you have found an underground water source it goes deeper than you can reach from the surface. It is one of those questions that cannot be answered as it was asked. It contains unanswerable bias. The simple example that comes to mind: "Are you still beating your wife?" No answer would be correct because of the presumption inherent in the question.

You asked for a time map, and perhaps it is not possible, unless you set the key to the map and decide what symbol will represent which feature. Or perhaps the time is mutable dependent on consciousness or readiness for the meeting. There are stories of people who lived next door for years but did not meet and fall in love until years later. So its not all about time or vicinity.

H46 is the image of wind below and earth above. Again perhaps it is more an image of a consciousness map then a time map. Line 6 might indicate that you are looking at things from the surface and not understanding the deeper implications. A "when" question in regards to experiencing a love relationship may not be the most helpful. Focusing on 'when' instead of 'how' may make the time expand. Is not literature full of examples of people who missed opportunity while they were too bust trying to figure out the nature of opportunity. I did not answer the invite to the party (where my mate patiently waits for his mate) because I was mapping time lines.

In my mind it is the focus on what you do want and finding happiness and alignment within the self. Focus on what you don't have by looking at how far (in time, space, or consciousness) it is from you only increases the distance. Wind keeps working at it, step by step. Earth is open to the possibilities.

Anyway, just some thoughts on it all.

Best wishes,
Maggie May
 
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maggie may

Guest
In fact, I think it's exactly where I want to be, more so than the 13 I had in mind initially. Very close to someone. Close. And I was almost there. You might even say "adjacent". And the nearest road is actually the one that goes there.

I think you need a "Chutes and ladders" kind of map...a cosmic one where the chutes take you into altered perceptions and the ladders to higher forms of consciousness. :bows:
 
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deflatormouse

Guest
Very interesting point about the use of cartography in battle strategy. I like to joke about playing Battleship with Yi, or moving model ships around on a big map of the ocean in a basement as analogous to planning. I have actually written a bit about sitting in a basement playing Electronic Talking Battleship with Yijing when I might be out living my life; this isn't lost on me, and if there's one divination habit of my own that I continuously call into question, I'd say it's that. The other side of the coin is often acting too boldly too prematurely.

I intended this example to be very light, not too deep, a little jokey. And a lot of folks will not appreciate the intension or irreverence of reducing the 360 degrees of a Yijing reading to a two-dimensional image (yes, setting the parameters of the key myself), and doing so deliberately or defiantly. What I was rather hoping that others might take from it is the comparative approach to working with a reading, another way in which the hexagrams not cast might be considered or incorporated instead of disregarded or forbidden. Instead of 'this is the reading you get, and that's all there is to it, you have no choice', it's Choose Your Own Adventure. I found this to be both good fun and revealing as any other approach I've tried.

On "are you still beating your wife?" And presumptions in questions: I'm glad you brought it up, cause some of the better materials on Yijing divination encourage us to form questions that are increasingly open-ended and introspective. I have applied this strategy for the most part, and I must say, I have found those readings much more rewarding and revealing than, say, predictive questions.

The problem with it, in my view, is that if divinations are only 'successful' when the questions are as open-ended as possible and nothing is sought beyond introspection-one's own inner knowing- and the "answers" are arrived at by free-associating with a very vague text or abstract line figures according to whatever set of structured or unstrucured parameters, this really requires a suspension of any disbelief in divine intervention. It suggests that perhaps you're just talking to yourself.

If we're going to say, let's avoid asking loaded questions, let's avoid bias and assumption in our thoughts where possible, the trouble is that divination then becomes even more dependent on a bias or assumption that there's someone on the other end of the line. Because you're not asking for or expecting any kind of validation of this. What you're really saying when you say that questions must be open-ended is that Yijing cannot tell you anything you don't already inwardly know. And so god forbid you might think it's actually answering your question! :rofl:
 
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deflatormouse

Guest
...I do see your point, that "what are my options?" assumes I have options.
In a way this intends to reduce the role of Yijing from oracular to something more like a utility with the expectation that it plays along.

My answer to that is, yes, it does :mischief:

But, on the other hand, that is also saying 'how dare you decide for youself what to make of this or where to go from here' :rofl:

And no assumptions means effectively reducing the function of Yijing from oracular to that of a psychological tool anyhow. I think there are potentially problems with any approach.

Does the 7 unchanging say "You are sitting in a basement playing Electronic Talking Battleship with Yijing when you could be out living your life"? Absolutely. Among many other things. I do tend to think that Yijing readings are rather multifaceted and complex, so yeah, I the parameters I have placed are distracting. I wouldn't deny that there's more to it. On the other hand, by attempting to impose limitations, I arrived at something I experienced as quite potent that I probably wouldn't have considered otherwise.
 
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maggie may

Guest
I intended this example to be very light, not too deep, a little jokey.

I thought your post was very humorous. :)

form questions that are increasingly open-ended and introspective.

Lately I have been working with questions that are more focused and specific, at least to my mind. I am particularly interested in questions about what I can do (or not do) or how I can do something. I am very self absorbed.

You are sitting in a basement playing Electronic Talking Battleship with Yijing when you could be out living your life

I don't think I stand behind that kind of idea. Even though I said something like that in my first response. I didn't care for it when I wrote it. I think it is important to follow what interests and feels good to do. What is "out living life" anyway? We are a society of go-getters and social butterflies, but I really enjoy sitting at my computer, pondering the I Ching, and writing introspective stuff. Will it get me a mate? I don't know about that. I do try and bring in some balance of getting out and about.

I do choose to believe that attitude and thinking and intention is important for what we bring to our lives and experience. So I do not look at how far away I am from my mate. I rather focus on what I can do now to increase my joy, fun, and interest in life. It is these qualities that make the waiting interesting and bearable.
 
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deflatormouse

Guest
Noted that playing Battleship is more like my interpolation of what you said initially than what you actually said. In any case, I think it was a good point worth mentioning, though I associate calculating or calculated risk more with hexagram 10, while hexagram 7 sometimes carries an implication of an ambush or of not knowing what one is up against, which was certainly true to my experience of that reading and being stunned.
 

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