Contradicting lines

[pepita45]

Hello, I am new to this site. I wish something like this existed when I started to use the I Ching. I need help with a reading that is puzzling me.I am separated from my husband and will start divorce proceeding soon.So I asked the oracle "Will I find love again in due course?" answer 24 with 2 and 6 moving and 41 as the next stage.
Now 24 is a very apt reply we only just passed the winter solstice, and on the whole a very positive reply a return to life, energy etc...,but the lines are so contradictory that I really do not know how to interpret this any longer.
Any advice very welcome

 

[lloyd]

Hi pepita
Return; sounds adequate. Line 2 delights in the goodness of “neighbors”; which strikes me as a possible comment on natural attractions you have. Line 6 may mean that there will be some confusion after your divorce and that it would not do to “set armies marching” for a new relationship (act forceful); but that it might be better to “evaluate the situation” before rushing into something new.
Were you to do what 6 warns against, the result would be decline.

 

[pepita45]

Thank you for your very helpful reply.I can get very lost in the oracle answers when my state of mind is not peaceful.

 

[zhan1]

Hi pepita,

If you continue to have difficulty with these lines you might be interested in trying a different approach. Here is an article which you may find helpful.

 

[pepita45]

Thank you trojanwench for your insight and thanks zhan for your suggested article that I will read shortly.I am totally self taught in the I Ching oracle, I have been doing it for a while and rely on my instinct a lot and a few helpful books.But your instincts are not always reliable in times of emotional turmoil.

 

[pepita45]

Just finished reading the article you suggested zhan1, so if I understand correctly the important line (where the action is) is line 2, line 6 is the conclusion and less important,something that might evolve if I don't take the advice of line 2.Extremely intersting.
41 can also mean a financial loss,and as I will be paying for the divorce , my ex has little money,it could also mean I will be out of pocket for a while.

 

[lloyd]

Check out here. There are a few more things to know, but this is the basics.

 

[zhan1]

so if I understand correctly the important line (where the action is) is line 2

Yes, in my view the emphasis is on line 2 and the changing of line 6 serves to create the related hexagram 41, but I don't think you will be subjected to the awful conditions depicted in the top line merely for not following the advice in line 2.

 

[pepita45]

LLoyd I have just read your link,and even though it is a very different approach from any I have known, I find it a bit difficult to apply tomy particular predicament.Maybe I just lack experience and perhaps I should sign up for some of the courses on this very good website.Have you used the oracle for a long time?

 

[lloyd]

Hi pepita - No need to get confused, it is really all very simple. If it wasn't it would not be Tao :bows:
One of the things you need is an I Ching that reflects on the underlying pattern of lines January this year should see the reprint of the Balkin edition. Otherwise you could go for a pocket edition of Lynn (see A below).
I suggest that you send me a private mail (via your Profile page), reminding me that I send you further links and information. Take it slow and nothing will be difficult

 

[pepita45]

Thank you lloyd, you have mail.

 

[lloyd]

Hope you can do something with the answer I sent

 

[pepita45]

I am definetely clearer in my head than I was a few days ago.I just find it difficult to grasp how you can have such a good judgement on one line and a really bad one on another.Wouldn'it be better than to have no lines?Does it mean that my problem can go either way? I need to read more on the subject.

 

[lloyd]

Hi Pepita - Reading the texts of an I Ching and understanding the meanings of lines does not come in a day or two. I have intensively studied I Ching for twenty years, reading books on Taoism and Chinese culture; as well as practiced a lot with the oracle. You sound a little impatient.
Get some good versions of the book (Lynn and Sherill for examples of creative text interpretation). Give it a year of your attention, stick with people at Clarity who take the trouble to explain lines and their effects; and in a year or so you will do fine

 

[pepita45]

You might find this hard to believe lloyd but i have been using the I Ching for 25 years.
I have not read many books on Taoism and perhaps that is my problem. 13 years ago in a fit of pique I decided not to open another book on the I Ching,as I was getting very frustrated with it all.This year because of my personal problems I started again, found this website and I decided to deepen my knowledge.So this thread is just the beginning of my new and "improved" journey on the understanding of the oracle.

 

[lloyd]

Okay, take it slow and easy. Clarity can be of help. There are not many good books about basic dealings with lines and hexagrams, but things will come to you. Scan Steve's pages also.
Meanwhile, work with the oracle, be careful not to draw too sharp conclusions and keep a record of your consults.

 

[jesed]

Hi pepita

I have not read many books on Taoism and perhaps that is my problem

Not at all. I rather would ask you how much have you read about the Wings of the Yijing.

Studying taoism is not a NEED in order to understand the Yijing, altough it may HELP to get a greater picture of chinese culture and background. The same goes to confucionism (and confucionism is even more closer to the Wings of the Yinjing than taoism).

Now, if you like to mix taoism and/or confucionism with Yijing studies, I would suggest you to read Alan Liam's blog. Well... i would suggest you to read that blog, even if your interest in only Yijing.
http://atouchofancientszhouyi.blogspot.com/

Best wishes

 

[jesed]

Ah... and about how to work with contradictory lines... there are too many options and techniques. No one has the "right" one (distrust of those who claim to have the right one).

You need to experience them, and arrive to your own conclusion. What works for someone doesn't work for another people

 

[lloyd]

Maybe there are no right ones, but let's stick with the ones that are workable. I don't much see the point of contradicting lines. To me, lines show a progression, so things can go from bad in one line to good in another, or from bad to worse.

 

[jesed]

Yes. that is one option. There are others. Let's allow people experiment, instead of saying "don't ask this way; don't read this way"

 

[lloyd]

You need to experience them, and arrive to your own conclusion.

If what I did with I Ching depended on my own conclusions I would not be on Clarity for the meanings of others. Sending people "inside of themselves" (and all that ...) to find answers is like the blind leading the blind.
Showing options strikes me as constructive and helpful.

 

[zhan1]

Each individual has to make their own choice, so there is nothing wrong with weighing the options and trying the different alternatives. There is no consensus on the issue of how to work with multiple lines, but there is evidence in the text and the diagrams from which conclusions can be drawn. Of course, what one observer sees as evidence (such as contradictory lines) appears to another as a misunderstanding or an inconvenient fact that can be glossed over. I think we can agree to disagree and allow others to find what works for them.

 

[pepita45]

I can see from all the comments that contradicting lines are far from a straightforward subject. I will read all the links suggested and thank you all for taking the time and trouble to help me understand this particularly tricky reading:bows:

 

[lloyd]

Each individual has to make their own choice

Hm. That is where some individual in one of Joyce's books might ask of zhan1 :
"Do you think a swim can duck?"