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Casting with affirmations

luigirouge

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Dear All,
I have been wondering if a way to avoid questions where you are expecting a yes or a no, could it be possible to cast with affirmations? for example: I want to know If i will be called for a job position i requested, i know I cannot ask "will they be calling me?" because this is a yes-no answer, instead of that could I do two affirmations? like 1)"they will call me" and cast Yi, and 2) "they won't call" and cast?

I suppose this is a little bit like asking what will happen if they call? what will happen if they don't call?, but not exactly.

I would like to hear your comments on this matter.

Thank you!
 

Trojina

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, i know I cannot ask "will they be calling me?" because this is a yes-no answer,

....but why shouldn't you ask this if this is what you want to know. I would ask this. Guidelines about questions are there for newbies who haven't built a relationship with the oracle enough to understand which way to take the answer.

Regardless of the question we put the answer will address what is really in our heart as a concern. It is a direct conversation.

Use the affirmation idea if you like but I can't see why you can't just ask if they will call. Even then you may get an answer that goes beyond that. For example there may be good fortune in them not calling which you may interpret as them calling or the answer may slip to you doing the actual job. How you will know that ? Same as when you get to know a person very well you might read between the lines. Everyone can still misunderstand of course but I see no harm in your question.
 

bradford

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That way of casting is fairly ancient. It's about halfway from divining to casting a spell (which begins with selecting the Gua and Yao that you want). There are divination records that state "We desire that ..." and the advice might suggest what to watch out for.
 

fabio galassi

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As Mr. Bradford Hatcher wrote, "that way of casting is fairly ancient".

So, I pick from this 'fairly ancient' an idea, quoting a passage by David N. Keightley:

"The Shang divination charges, were couched in terms that left little freedom for spiritual inspiration or invention. Under Wu Ding the complementary charge pairs generally offered only two options: “It will rain/it might not rain,” “We will receive assistance/we might not receive assistance,” etc."

It is true that this kind of divination make use of cracks interpretation from turtle plastrons, but I think is not so far from what could be an useful approach to the ZhouYi texts.

Following Keightley, again:

"By the late periods, a single option was the norm: “It will rain,” “We will receive assistance.” And to such restricted divinations, the cracks could give only three responses — auspicious, inauspicious, or neutral.... "

"Some gradations were provided for ... but generally the world was conceived in sharply delineated alternatives, which either prevailed or did not. There was no room for subtle interpretations, paradoxical responses, or deceptive meanings concealed in obscure prognostications"

Instead of two separate divinations, I suggest to try with Shang 'method':

"they will call me", "they won't call" and cast


>>>
David N. Keightley, "Late Shang Divination: The Magico-Religious Legacy." In Henry Rosemont, Jr., ed., Explorations in Early Chinese Cosmology. Journal of the American Academy of Religion Studies 50.2 (1984), p.17
 
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