Hello Everyone,

I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to the I Ching but I think from a reading I just did, the Oracle is saying that I should stay at my current company. What I could use help with is understanding the deeper messages and possibilities here.

I asked two questions. The first


Q: What would be the result of leaving my current company for a job with X?
Your reading resulted in the following hexagrams:
changing to
34 58
Hexagram 34, Great Vigour


With Great Vigour, you stand upright and robust, full of resilient energy. You are inspired and animated by strong purpose, and ready to wield your strength like a hero.
For this to yield results, you will need to act with steadiness and consistency – standing in your strength, but without mistaking it for omnipotence.
Image
‘Thunder dwells above heaven: Great Vigour.
A noble one treads no path that is without ritual.’
Sequence
Great Vigour follows from Hexagram 33, Retreat:
‘Things cannot end with retreat, and so Great Vigour follows.’
Changing Lines
Line 3
‘Small people use vigour,
Noble one uses a net.
Constancy: danger.
The ram butts a hedge,
Entangles his horns.’

Line 5
‘Losing sheep at Yi.
No regrets.’

Hexagram 58, Opening

The early Chinese character for ‘Opening’ shows someone with words rising from their mouth: they seem to be dancing and singing. It means joyful and outgoing expression that opens up communication.
Opening brings people together and begins a lively creative process of sharing and exchange. It liberates human energies, motivates people to overcome hardship and encourages perseverance.
Image
‘Lakes joined together: Opening.
A noble one joins with friends to speak and practise together.’

The changing lines above in Hexagram 34 look quite negative. Am I wrong? But the related hexagram has some positivity about it.

So I asked the question from the other way around:

What would be the result if I stayed at my current company?
Your reading resulted in the following hexagrams:
changing to
45 8
Hexagram 45, Gathering


Oracle
‘Gathering, creating success.
The king enters his temple.
Fruitful to see great people, creating success.
Constancy bears fruit.
Using great sacrificial animals: good fortune.
Fruitful to have a direction to go.’
The old character for ‘Gathering’ shows people gathered like grass, or perhaps gathered to bring in the harvest: they have a shared identity, and invest together for a purpose, looking for what will bear fruit. Sometimes this is an external gathering, sometimes an internal one – collecting yourself and integrating your many roles and strengths, getting yourself together. Many people, roles, energies and issues are concentrated in this single focal point.
The king enters his temple to connect his people with the ancestral spirits. This is a time to strengthen shared roots, and understand mundane daily activities as part of a larger story and identity that gives them meaning.
With this connection made, it is time to see great people. Originally this might have meant consulting with diviners, to ensure your offerings were made in harmony with the time and the spirits. Seeing great people (whether in the flesh or with your inner vision) gives you longer- term guidance to align your efforts with your purpose. Then a steady persistence will bear fruit. And you are making great efforts – and an act of faith – investing the best you have in this gathering. You need those good, deep roots, and clear-sighted guidance, and you need to know where you are going with it all.
Image
‘Lake higher than the earth: Gathering.
A noble one sets aside weapons and tools, and warns against the unexpected.’
Sequence
Gathering follows from Hexagram 44, Coupling:
‘They meet one another, then they assemble, and so Gathering follows. Gathering means assembling.’
Pair
Gathering forms a pair with Hexagram 46, Pushing Upward:
‘Gathering means assembling, Pushing Upward means not coming back.’
Changing Lines
Line 4
‘Great good fortune, no mistake.’

Hexagram 8, Seeking Union
Oracle
‘Seeking union, good fortune.

Image
‘Above earth is the stream: Seeking Union.
The ancient kings founded countless cities for relationship with all the feudal lords.’
Sequence
Seeking Union follows from Hexagram 7, the Army:
‘Crowds naturally have occasion to Seek Union.’

The second reading looks like it is better to stay where I am, that great things could come of it?

If anyone has experience with these hexgrams and the combinations or could offer some insight into the deeper message I would be very grateful!

best,
D

One of the issues that frequently comes up when we're just starting to use the I Ching is there is a tendency to look for more in a reading than is there or to interpret the reading as answering a different question from the one that was asked. You asked the I Ching what would be the result of taking a new position or staying at the old one. This is not the same as asking the I Ching what you "should" do. The readings here are not telling you. They are giving you a snapshot of the situations. You then must decide how these images resonate. 34.3 sounds to me like it may be a bit premature - perhaps company x isn't ready to take you on yet? Perhaps later on 34.5 it will be a good move and you could leave your current job without regret? 58 sounds like people still have a lot to discuss - about the job, or would the job itself involve a lot of tossing ideas back and forth? 45.4 sounds like staying with your current position is a good option.
The I Ching isn't telling you what you should do here, just helping you get clear what your choices are. You might want to ask the I Ching, "What will I decide?" Some claim the IC doesn't predict the future but I've gotten results with that sort of question.