The I Ching is the Book of Change. So when there is a change I very much want to make, but somehow haven’t managed yet, why not call on the oracle’s help?
The most obvious way to do this is to ask directly ‘How to…?’ – and I’ve discovered many good strategies with ‘how to’ questions over the years. But this time, I took another leaf from Stephen Karcher’s book and asked for a guide. I started out by writing a lot down: here’s how I want to be, here’s how I am right now and how I do not want to be. I set and clarified my intention as best I could, then said,
‘Yi, here’s my intention. Please give me a guide to achieve this.’
This felt as if it combined asking for a guiding principle, and asking for a personal guide, a helper.
Yi answered with Hexagram 49, Radical Change, changing at the third place to Hexagram 17, Following. I understand that as making a radical change in what and how I follow, and also as aligning the power and momentum of following to support radical change. Plenty to think on and be guided by.
What hits closest to home is the moving line:
‘Setting out to bring order means pitfall,
Constancy means danger.
Words of radical change draw near three times,
There is truth and confidence.’
This is the third line, the inner threshold, the moment when resolve builds to tip that inner impulse over the edge into action. In his ‘unusual techniques for applying I Ching hexagrams’ I linked to in my previous post, Jim Peters associates the third line with the ‘soft bit just below the ribs’. Isn’t that pretty much where you experience butterflies? 😉 And the moment of change from inhalation to exhalation?
So this line is building up towards the real-life enactment of Radical Change – beyond the theoretical part, or merely the desire. And at this stage, the first thing to know is that ‘setting out to bring order means pitfall.’ Bringing order is an act of discipline, of oneself or others: sorting it out, setting things straight, applying force to make it work. In some readings it would mean ‘fixing’ other people; for me at this stage it means self-discipline – not the way to bring about major change. (Well, it hadn’t worked so far, but I always thought that was because I hadn’t got enough of it…) And constancy, doggedly carrying on the same way, takes me into danger.
What I most need is not discipline, but fu: the quality of truth, sincerity and confidence that is represented in the old Chinese by a hand or claw firmly grasping a child. For me it has to do with being wholly present, altogether at one with the moment; I need to find unanimity. Setting out to bring order sets one part of my will against another – not the same thing. This is all oriented towards Following.
And to bring about that truth and confidence, the words of change must go around three times. This was a puzzle to me to begin with. I could see what didn’t work, and what was needed, but not how to apply this advice on getting from a to b. Then on that same day, I had two unexpected opportunities to tell strangers about my plans, which gave me a significant boost. In a group I imagine this would mean the conversation going round, ‘This is what we’re going to do…’, until everyone is at home with the idea. For an individual, just putting the change into words several times seems to create momentum in itself.
Please allow me to follow my understanding of line 3 in relation to the body. As I said in the previously line 3 resonates with Lower heater which includes your kidneys, bladder, small intestine and large intestine.
Kidneys and bladder are the officials of the water phase while, small intestine belongs to the fire phase and large intestine to the metal.
Kidney stores your jing, (essence) and are responsible for the creation of power skill and ability stem from it.
Bladder acts like a reservoir both as means to reach to a hidden source of energy along with the storing of your memories.
Small intestine is the official for separation of the pure from the impure. In the mind and sprit level it means being able to perceive the correct information in a timely manner. There may be lots of information coming from various directions yet small intestine should be able to filter them separating the pure from the impure.
Large intestine is responsible for drainage of the dregs. So it is reponsible for the transit. Letting go is the key word for the large intestine. Constipation is not a nice feeling nor a situation.
If you have followed so far as you have noticed there are 3 phases; water, fire and metal just like 49.3 says change is 3 times.
water controls fire (phase 1)
fire controls metal (phase 2)
metal creates water (phase 3)
Of course you can line the phases in various sequence. The one above is based on your description of what you said you needed, fu, the quality of truth, sincerity and confidence. This reminded me Hexagram 61 Innere Sincerety, Zhong fu, which has the two yin lines in the middle, just like the void of the heart which is not taken by the emotions; emotions which should be able to come and go, a pure state of mind. So I have interpreted as your metal phase needs support.
Another explanation without the lines would be; in Hexagram 49 Dui is above and li is below; or just talking about phases Metal above Fire below, which makes the metal melted by the fire.
One can also think the lake as water phase and if the fire is to much you have two possibilities, either there would be no water left or the water will spill out and put off the fire.
Hence Fire needs to be controlled in my point of view. Talking from the phases aspect they are three phases as I said in relation to the parts of the related to line 3.
And you yourself also clearly identified the problem area as well “sorting it out,” which is the duty of the small intestine in the mind and sprit level.
When you say ” constancy, doggedly carrying on the same way, takes me into danger.” sound very much like water to me ; caution, danger. yet the virtue of the kidney is wisdom; the skill and ability.
So if you work on the separation of the pure from the impure things should go smoothly as fire will not melt metal.
Also you should let go ( just like the large intestine) so metal can create the water, which would be able to control the fire and produce next phase wood.
That is how I would interprete line 3, hope it helps
Togan Muftuoglu
hello again i read your thesis on 49,and 61 .i thoghtt them very useful,,,,,,,,,,on apersonal level,it reflected much of what i had meditaed on and how i was dealing with my situation,ive been medically retired now for some 14years,,i fought against hodgkinsons disease,for some years,and although,i have recovered somewhat,my general physiology,is sensitive,in pearticular,my endrocine system,i.e.pancreas anmd low nutrition absorbtion,i have for the better part used my time to study aspects of world religions and philosophy,always hoping that for all my study and psyche visions i would be able to use my knowledge and gift to help those on spiritual paths to illuminate my the use of such…my health prevents me from going to college as i have good days and bad,those on a similar path of self development do show theier respectto my knowledge,i am not one to councel,though i am a good listener,,,,,the values of such experiences i have tried to share,pracicing chuntzu ay regular intervals,through out my past years,having a belief that like the chinese,confuscianists,how we act think and channel during meditation and prayer,influences the reflective ?…counterpart,,the es,of being,both laotzu…and tung chung-shu expressed this…,humans follow the earth.,earth follows heaven,etc,…though i dont suggest i am a sage,i respect all sages efforts,.we all have a sacred place iether in our innerworld,orin theexternal world in wich we live,.the confucian tun chungshu[2nd century b.c.]regarded the operation,of human realm,and that of the natural realm regulated,by the same forces.and hence involves yin and yang,human beings are born with both elements,bad and good,and should work towards the good.chu hsi on the other hand introduced the idea of es or ether material force,which is physical,,,human beings,are all born with the gift of insightmand the ying yang principle,but ones own endowment,can be impure,involving distortive,desires and thoghts,,self cultivation,requires regular self examination,as well as study,i like to believe i am vrtuous,yet i have weaknesses as any other,in my life it is important of how i fit in the general world,once descibed as a romantic idaelist,i am somewhat a loner , never yet being able to replace the platonic and emotional,aspect of my personal life, losing my partner some years ago.i have now no real carreer thogh i was succesfgull with a good reputation for both catering management,chef de cuisine and charitable works,always watchful of diet,excercise,and relaxation,and spend on average a day a week writing ,on what i have learned,i am 53 now born water dragon/snake jan 29/30.1953…true to my nature.i am surviving well.at the time of casting both health and spiritual role and my future was as important as my decsions about futre health traetments,,,,,,,,,,,and self disipline,i am by no ways a wealthy man,biut value life friendship,more than physical possessions,some say i have been too generous in the past for no reward,yet i give what i can,i dont expectreturns,there are many who would testify that having had discourse with insights with mehave improved their lotboth your synopsis’s were very enlighting thank you ……….
When I am doing readings for others, sometimes a client gets hung up on trying to word his or her question in a very specific way. I usually politely interrupt, telling my client that the Tao already knows exactly the information he or she needs to know about the matter at hand. I then proceed to do the divination. As always, the Tao, through the I Ching, tells my client precisely what he or she needs to know.
FWIW, I don’t think that paying careful attention to the question is done for the sake of the oracle, but for the sake of the querent.
Good point. Still, I think that sometimes diviners can get carried away with that sort of thing, coming up with unfortunately restrictive rules and regulations for how to fomulate divinatory questions. Diviners should do divinations about how to divine, not imbue the divinatory process with their own limited, earth-bound preconceptions.
Yup – imposing one’s own limitations on Yi, never good. I think there is a balance to be found, between finding a question that will enable the querent to make the best possible connection to the answer, and finding one that allows the oracle space.