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compass on map

The importance of the question

I’ve mentioned this before, and no doubt will again… the question you ask the Yi matters. It’s important to understand that this isn’t about choosing the right wording for your question. The words really don’t matter. ‘Argh – help!’ can be a perfectly-formed question for the Oracle, leading to a… Read more »The importance of the question

Aerial view of water flowing between two lakes

Hexagram 58, Opening

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Hexagram 58, Opening

In context After Hexagram 57, Subtly Penetrating, comes 58, Opening. It’s an inverse pair: 58 is 57, turned around:   There’s a change of orientation: 57 faces inward, 58 outward. 57 enters in – the Sequence says it’s like entering the home – and 58 opens out, shares and circulates.… Read more »Hexagram 58, Opening

Leave, go out and far away

‘Dispersing blood. Leave, go out and far away. Not a mistake.’ Hexagram 59, line 6 ‘Dispersing blood‘? What does that mean? Wilhelm says it means avoiding an existing danger, ‘dispersion of that which might lead to bloodshed’ for both oneself and others. Lynn, following Wang Bi, has the same idea:… Read more »Leave, go out and far away

Hexagram 64: Not Yet Across

Its name and nature At the very end of the Yijing comes the hexagram called Not Yet Across – the embodiment of incompletion and imperfection, an ellipsis in hexagram form. It’s a very large-scale, oracle-sized joke about our expectations of tidiness and order. The Chinese name has two characters: 未濟,… Read more »Hexagram 64: Not Yet Across