Help, please

[fodmom]

I have been consulting the Oracle for a short time. My interpretations are based only on ...what I sense the message to be. I work purely on intuition. I have found the Oracle's replies to be either on the mark or totally obscure. The obscurity I blame on my lack of knowledge. Quite frequently, though, the answers that I find to be puzzling become clear within a matter of time.

It is only now that I find myself able to begin to study the I Ching and it's history.

I would like to get the interpretation of others on this particular question. The outcome is too important for me to rely simply on my gut...I need the assistance of those of you who know what you are doing! It would also help me determine if I am on the right track with my interpretations.

Question: Should I stop with the work that I am currently attempting?
Answer: #54, changing lines at the 1st and 2nd place, relating to #16.

Thank you for your impressions and sharing your experiences and knowledge with me.

 

[hilary]

Hello Fodmom!

Hope you are enjoying your foray into I Ching study

I find that knowledge is the necessary support for intuition - the more you know of the original image, the more directly you can relate to it. So here are a few thoughts on this one.

I would imagine from this reading that Hexagram 16 depicts your feelings about the work - in summary, plenty of motivation but some uncertainty as to whether you can successfully deal with the forces involved. So you would like to be prepared, to find help to accomplish what you?re aiming for. Perhaps it is an uphill struggle - could there be a better way? (Nuclear hexagram, 39) There is a strange combination in this hexagram of joyous celebration that does successfully channel its energy, and wariness that it might get out of hand, there could be over-confidence, and it?s as well to man the defences just in case.

As for Hexagram 54, I would think that your position with regard to your work is being compared with that of the young woman who is being married. As you probably know, she is going only as a second wife, which gives her the responsibility to fit in without rocking the boat, and little or no personal authority. ?Setting out, misfortune?: she can?t dominate and arrange things as she would wish. Instead she must continually look ahead and think of the longer-term. You could take this (the Image) in one of two ways: on adopting this longer perspective, you might recognise that what you?re doing isn?t viable; or you might see that it has value in that light even if it is unrewarding at present.

A personal note - of course, I don?t know what kind of work you mean. But for myself I?ve found that this hexagram can refer to quite a variety of ways of coming second, such as trying to enter a market that?s crowded out with better-established, stronger competitors. Essentially, it means that you didn?t have a say in the basic conditions and you can?t change them - and they?re not designed with you in mind! If you?d received 54 with no changing lines, the answer would surely have been to stop.

The moving lines give the most direct advice, of course - and they do alter the picture somewhat.

Line 1: ?Marrying maiden, younger sister. Limping on, can walk. Setting out, good fortune.?
Despite being handicapped by this junior position, you can still make halting progress. If you?re prepared to struggle, then the effort to change things actually is worthwhile - despite the basic situation described in the Judgement. Perhaps this is because you are getting in early, while conditions are still somewhat malleable? Or if you are actually working with someone who takes the senior role of ?older sister?, it suggests you can work together well.

Line 2: ?With one eye, can watch. Harvest in constancy like a hidden person.?
This is similar to the first line: things are less than ideal, but you can still succeed. Specifically, you don?t have a complete vision of what is involved, but this doesn?t prevent you from watching for signs. The ?hidden person? retreats to solitude, like a hermit in a cave - such reserve is good, even if it does mean that you?re not exactly at the hub of events.

So should you stop? It depends?

?on whether you are prepared to live with this sort of disadvantage. If you are, you can make a success of it.

I hope this all makes sense for you in the context!

One final thought:
The interpretation of this answer could change radically, though, if behind that question you were thinking ?should I stop this in order to start that?? - IOW, if your focus was actually on a new, alternative project. In that case, #54 would describe the proposed new project.

 

[fodmom]

Hilary,

Thank you for your response. It is extremely helpful. It reinforces my general sense of the meaning of the answer. Your interpretation has specifics that, since I lack the knowledge, I never would have thought of.

When I ask a question of the Oracle I always try to make it in a "yes or no", a "should" or a "will" form.

Often my question is actually in "or" or "and" form which I break down into two questions.

As you suspected my question was originally a "should I stop this and start that...". When I sat down to ask, I just asked "Should I stop..." I have yet to ask the "Should I do this..."

I especially appreciate your final thought. I could easily have been thinking, regardless of my good intentions, of the "in order to start that" part of the question.

I always thought that, in order to interpret the answer correctly, it is necessary to break the question down into its lowest common denominator. I see that it is not.

I am going to rephrase the question as "Should I stop...in order to start". I have faith that the I Ching will have patience with a beginner. If not I will find out soon enough.

Take care,

Ei