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45

marsh wren singing

Great good fortune

The Yijing is an optimistic oracle: omens of good fortune come more often than those of misfortune. But on four* occasions, it goes one step further and promises great good fortune: ‘Enriching the home.Great good fortune.’ Hexagram 37, line 4 ‘Great good fortune, no mistake.’ Hexagram 45, line 4 ‘Welcomed… Read more »Great good fortune

no through road sign

No direction bears fruit

‘Not yet across, creating success.The small fox, almost across,Soaks its tail:No direction bears fruit.’ There are ten places where the Yi says that ‘no direction bears fruit’, or (in the Wilhelm/Baynes version) ‘nothing furthers’: 4.3, 19.3, 25.6, 27.3, 32.1, 34.6, 45.3, 54.0, 54.6, and finally 64.0. It’s easy to see… Read more »No direction bears fruit

Chinese character yong, 'perpetual'

Yi on authenticity

This is episode 11 of the I Ching with Clarity podcast, featuring another listener’s reading. Sarah asked, “How can I better convey my authentic and true self with others?” and Yi replied with Hexagram 45, Gathering, changing at lines 4,5 and 6 to 23, Stripping Away – changing to It’s… Read more »Yi on authenticity

Not a mistake

Recently, I heard someone say that the phrase ‘no mistake’, wu jiu 无咎, occurs so often in the Yijing that he tends to ignore it in readings. Well… you know how I generally feel about ignoring bits of readings… so, naturally, I dived back in to see what more I… Read more »Not a mistake

Yi in 19th Century Japan

I’ve been browsing with growing fascination through the Takashima Ekidan. Published in 1893 in Tokyo, this is an English translation by Shigetake Sugiura of an original Yijing translation by Kaemon Takashima, a successful serial entrepreneur and respected diviner. (‘Eki’ is the Japanese name for the Yi, and I believe ‘dan’… Read more »Yi in 19th Century Japan