getting out of a bad spot: 40 unchanging and 42.2

[leonine]

I have been going through a hell of a time for a long while. Almost 2 years ago I asked about this as it specifically related to career matters and recieved 49.1
This situation has not changed, in fact it has gotten worse, and has also spread to other areas of my life.

With the exception of a few interludes that seem to always go sour , my life is in a very very very stagnant bad spot. Bad luck event after bad luck etc etc etc , and a lack of opportunities and great difficulties in creating opportunities.... I could give a million examples, but I don't want to bore you all, and it would take too long to write it all out.

I asked two questions, one about a specific action, the other about changing tactics/problem solving methods (with the action of question one being a specific subset of the subject of question 2)

1. What would be the result of me taking action X to dispel the negativity that surrounds me.
The answer I recieved was Hexagram 40 unchanging, which from what I have read is an answer that basically says negativity will be dispelled. This question is about a specific action.

Hexagram 40 LIBERATION
Other titles: Deliverance, The Symbol of Loosening, Release, Eliminating Obstacles, Taking-apart, Untangled, Solution, Dissolution, Relief, Unloose, Release of Tension

Judgment
Legge:Liberation finds advantage in the southwest. When the operation is completed, a return to stability brings good fortune. If operations are incomplete, it is best to finish them quickly.
Wilhelm/Bayneseliverance. The southwest furthers. If there is no longer anything (Sic) where one has to go, return brings good fortune. If there is still something (Sic) where one has to go, hastening brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Release. The west and south are favorable. Those with nothing to gain from going forward will find good fortune by turning back; those who do have much to gain from going forward must hasten to be sure of doing well. [This is not a time to stay where we are. If we have no good reason to advance, it is best to retreat.]
Liu: Liberation. The southwest benefits. If there is nothing for one where one has to go, then returning brings good fortune. If there is something in a place where one can go, then going quickly leads to good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Taking-apart. Harvesting: Western South. Without a place to go: one's coming return significant. Possessing directed going: Daybreak significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of reflection and release from tension. It emphasizes that analyzing and understanding things in order to be delivered from compulsion is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Untangled: Beneficial to the southwest; there is nowhere to go; his coming in return is auspicious; there is someplace to go to spend the night; auspicious.
Cleary (1): For liberation, the southwest is beneficial. When going nowhere, the return brings good fortune; when going somewhere, promptness brings good fortune.
Cleary (2): For solution, the southwest is beneficial. Going nowhere, coming back is fortunate, etc.
Wu: Relief indicates advantage in the southwest. If he undertakes to do something without a cause, it will be auspicious for him to return to his former station. If he undertakes to do something with a cause, it will be auspicious for him to do it early.



The Image
Legge: Liberation shows a thunderstorm clearing the atmosphere. The superior man, in accordance with this, forgives errors and deals gently with crimes.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder and rain set in: the image of Deliverance. Thus the superior man pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder and rain bringing release. The Superior Man tends to forgive wrongs and deals leniently with crimes. [The component trigrams suggest that a certain amount of forceful action is required.]
Liu: Thunder and rain come, symbolizing Liberation. The superior man forgives errors and pardons criminals.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, rain, arousing. Taking-apart. A chun tzu uses forgiving excess to pardon offenses.
Cleary (1): Thunder and rain act, dissolving. Thus do superior people forgive faults and pardon crimes.
Cleary (2): Thunder and rain – solution. Etc.
Wu: There come thunder and rain; this is Relief. Thus the jun zi pardons inadvertent transgressors and extenuates (Sic) criminal offenders.




2. As next to nothing I have been doing and trying to better my life have been working, the other question was "what if I radically change/modify efforts and actions in service of my goal of having a better life, more success etc etc etc". This is basically about a change in tactics, methods of solving problems... very significant changes, with a particular type of change in mind.
The answer I recieved was 42.2, which from what I have read basically says a blessing from above, but make sure to be benevolent and caring with one's good fortune:


INCREASE
Other titles: The Symbol of Addition, Gain, Augmenting, Help from Above, Benefit, Advantage, Profit, Expansion

Judgment
Legge: Increase denotes advantage in every movement which shall be undertaken -- it will be advantageous even to cross the great stream.

Wilhelm/Baynes:Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Gain. It is favorable to have in view some goal (or destination) and to cross the great water (or sea).
Liu:Increase. It is of benefit to set forth. It is of benefit to cross the great water.
Ritsema/Karcher: Augmenting , Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of increase and advance. It emphasizes that expanding the quantity and quality of your involvement is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to augment!]
Shaughnessy:Increase:Beneficial herewith to have someplace to go; beneficial to find the great river.
Cleary (1): For Increase, it is beneficial to go somewhere; it is beneficial to cross great rivers.
Wu: Gain indicates an advantage in having undertakings and in crossing a big river.

Line 2:
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows parties adding to the stores of its subject ten pairs of tortoise shells whose oracles cannot be opposed. Let her persevere in being firm and correct, and there will be good fortune. Let the ruler, having the virtues thus distinguished, employ them in presenting her offerings to God, and there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Someone does indeed increase him; Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents him before God. Good fortune.
Blofeld: There was one who enriched him to the extent of ten PENG or tortoise shells (2,100 of them) and who would accept no refusal -- unwavering persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune! The King sacrificed to the Supreme Lord of Heaven [From the point of view of divination, this can be taken to mean that we are about to benefit either from our earlier devotions or from some sacrifice either to moral principles or to the public good.] -- good fortune!
Liu: Someone enriches him with twenty tortoises. He cannot refuse. Perpetual continuance brings good fortune. The king makes a presentation to God. Good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Maybe Augmenting's ten: partnering's tortoise. Nowhere a controlling contradiction. Perpetual Trial significant. Kinghood availing-of presenting tending- towards the supreme, significant.
Shaughnessy: Someone increases it by ten double-strands of turtles; you cannot deflect it; permanent determination is auspicious. The king uses aromatic grass to Di; auspicious.
Cleary (1): One gains ten sets of tortoise shells, and none can oppose. Perpetual correctness is auspicious. It is good for the king to serve the lord.
Cleary (2): … It bodes well to be always correct. It bodes well for the king to make offerings to God.
Wu: He may be presented with ten pairs of tortoise shells and may not decline the gift. Being constantly persevering is auspicious. The king makes offerings to the Supreme Being in heaven. Auspicious.

Anyways, there you go. Any additional insights would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[kttuan]

If i have the day of casting it is better, but here I can read something:
- the competition is higher and higher;
- it needs more patience to reach the good destination.

 

[leonine]

Thanks for the reply Kttuan, I can't remember which day I casted it on.
I'm confused by what you mean about "the competition is higher and higher", can you elaborate a bit?

I get the part about more patience being needed to reach a good destination.

 

[kttuan]

Thanks for the reply Kttuan, I can't remember which day I casted it on.
I'm confused by what you mean about "the competition is higher and higher", can you elaborate a bit?
I get the part about more patience being needed to reach a good destination.

Hi leonine,
hexagram 42: above is wind (with 2 yang line, 1 yin); under is thunder (1 yang 2 yin).
we count from line 1 to line 6:
- line 1: representavives for documents/parents/information..etc. (depends on particular thing you ask);
- line 2: brothers/sisters/colleaguges/competitor (means anybody, anything which has the same benefit/destination with you).
- line 3: wife/girlfriend/money...
- line 4:same as line 3
-line 5: kids/chirldren/medical doctor/medicin/results which you get/middle people in work...
-line 6: same as line 2.

 

[angelatlantis14]

Hi Leonine,

sorry to hear about your bad siutation... I can relate to this frustrating feeling when a bad situation will and will not move!
firstz a small pointer, and I do hope you will not take this the wrong way - No offence intended!
But, you have spent a lot of effort into compiling every known authors/interpretators readings on your cast - that to me is confusing in itself. For an unclear reading, this will not make it clearer at all, rather just add more confusion. I'd rather select one or two authors that resonate with you, and stick with them (personally I mostly use Wilhelm/Baynes, but your choice may vary)
Also you had a changing line - it might be good to add the changing Hex, and also to consider it in your response. hex 42.2 changes to 61 which I see as being quite profound advice for your query.
So these small pointers aside, here is what I would see in your reading about changing strategy.

42.2 --> 61
I assume when you ask about a changed strategy, you have something concrete in mind- correct? If so, then I see your reading as very positive. It seems to say, that this change of strategy will have an irrestistible pull ("Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents him before God.") that will take you, if you are persevering in the right direction. This is further emphasizted by changing Hex 61 "Inner Truth". This seems to me to say, your deliverance from bad events will come when you are absolutely truthful to yourself - for example, not work where you don't want to, don't associate with people that are not right for you etc.
Does some of this resonate for you?

best wishes

maui

 

[leonine]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Thanks for the clarification kttuan.

Hi Maui, My bad on not posting the changing hexagram, I usually do, but late night, so I was forgetful etc (same reason for cutting and pasting all the line translations, though that resulted from more of a lazy/tired combo )

"sorry to hear about your bad siutation... I can relate to this frustrating feeling when a bad situation will and will not move! " Thanks for the empathy, yes, it absolutely sucks when one is stagnant, stuck etc etc
"I assume when you ask about a changed strategy, you have something concrete in mind- correct? If so, then I see your reading as very positive. It seems to say, that this change of strategy will have an irrestistible pull ("Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents him before God.") that will take you, if you are persevering in the right direction. "

"Hex 61 "Inner Truth". This seems to me to say, your deliverance from bad events will come when you are absolutely truthful to yourself - for example, not work where you don't want to, don't associate with people that are not right for you etc."

In terms of a concrete strategy, Indeed I do have one in mind. A clunky metaphor follows, but here goes: I've been using a hammer to deal with projects... when it involves hammering in or removing a nail, the hammer works great. Some jobs require the use of a different type of hammer... maybe a ball-pin one is better suited to the job, or maybe a heavier larger hammer, as that nail is quite large and the surface I am trying to push it through is very resistant. Sometimes one needs something that is in terms of function very much like a hammer, even if it is in other ways different, something like a mallet. Anyways, I've been using the hammer for such a long time that I feel emotionally invested in it... I serenade it, I've named it (Hamilton the hammer), I make sure I never get it rusty, when I am done using it I wrap it in felt so that the metal doesn't scratch and so that the wood doesn't scuff.

So, in this metaphor, this hammer has served me well... but suddenly it isn't working! This perplexes me, but I keep on trying.. I eventually get angry, and frustrated with myself, the hammer, and even the nail.

BUT: after much research, inspired by frustration and failure, I finally realize, hey, maybe this isn't a nail... maybe it's something else. Ok, turns out it is most likely a bolt that needs to be loosened or tightened.
So how about I try another instrument, maybe a wrench. This doesn't mean hammers are bad or inefficient, but simply that hammers are not panaceas.

The 61 seems to come into play when I am truthful with myself, "this hammer just isn't working in this situation, it did when I was dealing with nails, but this isn't a nail. I owe it to myself to try using a wrench, and to do so will not betray the hammer". In that sense, 61 seems to be a background hexagram more than a resulting one, as that realization is what led me to ask the question in the first place. Someone with a hammer think the solution to a problem is always going to be nailing something in. Ok, I think I have managed to loose myself in my clunky metaphor, but hopefully I have somewhat expressed the situation with a little bit of clarity.

So that's where 61 comes in. As for line 2, the prediction seems like one of success, if I persevere.