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49

close-up of tiger fur

Three tigers

Chinese tigers Tigers have been prowling through Chinese thought and folklore for many thousands of years. Their meaning is interesting: not just wildness and danger, though of course they might eat you, but also courage and protection against evil – from the wild boar that would eat your crops, and… Read more »Three tigers

Words of Radical Change

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Book of Stories

Half an idea about the third line of Hexagram 49, Radical Change – ‘Setting out to bring order means a pitfall,Constancy means danger.As words of radical change draw near three times,There is truth and confidence.’ Overall, this is telling us that radical change isn’t something you get at once, like… Read more »Words of Radical Change

night sky

Light inside: Hexagrams 49, 55 and 63

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Light inside

Hexagram 49, Radical Change Fire in the lake: awareness shining through all kinds of human interaction and exchange. I’ve imagined before that this could be the shaman’s eyes shining through his mask; it’s certainly the light of astronomical awareness shining through the calendar. ‘In the centre of the lake there… Read more »Light inside: Hexagrams 49, 55 and 63

stone troll

Troll Story

In which you will encounter hesitation, second-guessing, repetitious readings, decision, ‘contradictory’ moving lines (what do you do with those?), a good dose of common sense and a particularly persistent troll. Also these readings… Hexagram 18, Corruption, changing at line 3 to 4, Not Knowing: changing to Hexagram 49, Radical Change,… Read more »Troll Story

Not yet

Hexagram 63, Ji ji, Already Crossing, is followed by Wei ji, Not Yet Crossing. Wei 未, ‘not yet’, is the opposite of ji 既, ‘already’. It occurs three times in the Yi in addition to its appearance in Hexagram 64: in the Oracle of Hexagram 48, and in 49.5 and… Read more »Not yet

paintbrushes

The genius of the Daxiang (part 1)

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series The Wings

Introducing the Image Sometimes we explain things to ourselves by comparing and contrasting – like the Zagua. Sometimes we tell stories, like the Xugua (Sequence of Hexagrams). And often, we paint mental pictures. The Yi is overflowing with pictures, of course – not least the ones created by its component… Read more »The genius of the Daxiang (part 1)