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If the hexagrams were short advice, what would they be?

liquidity

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If you had to state for each hexagram, in a quick phrase, what it was telling you to do, given your own personal feelings & experiences with them, what would your phrases be? Here are mine, off the top of my head:

1 - Imagine new possibilities
2 - Allow the situation to guide you
3 - Nourish what you are already growing
4 - Empty your mind and learn something new
5 - Wait
6 - Withdraw from what is too big to fight
7 - Organize your forces
8 - Hold to what is most important
9 - Restrain your impatience
10 - Walk cautiously, realizing the situation is full of danger
11 - Abide in inner peace
12 - Don't expect too much
13 - Look to the social world
14 - You have what you need
15 - Keep a light hand, a peaceful heart, and a low profile
16 - Go for it
17 - Listen to your heart
18 - Investigate your psyche
19 - See and be seen
20 - Pay attention to the sacred
21 - Judge/interpret the matter
22 - Pay attention to the appearance of the thing
23 - Stop trying
24 - Turn back to the spiritual
25 - Do what you do when you aren't thinking or expecting anything
26 - Restrain your energies as a way of deeply cultivating and growing them
27 - Re-examine your assumptions
28 - Don't think you can continue in this tension forever
29 - Hold on to yourself -- you're in a place of mysterious trouble
30 - You understand the situation
31 - Employ persuasion
32 - Keep doing what you're doing, even if it's tedious
33 - You're barking up the wrong tree. Change trees
34 - Employ, quiet, gentle power
35 - You have an opportunity, so play your cards right
36 - Protect yourself in a difficult situation
37 - Look inward for strength
38 - Emphasize the unique, what doesn't seem to fit or belong
39 - Hold tight, you're going to have to wait, but help is coming
40 - Stop worrying about this; let it go
41 - This isn't going to work, but progress is available along a different dimension
42 - This is going to work, so act accordingly
43 - Grit your teeth and be honest with yourself or others
44 - Avoid the forbidden fruit, however tempting it seems
45 - Gather yourself or others together for a spiritual purpose
46 - Push through the uncertainty
47 - You're drained and so is this issue. Refresh yourself
48 - Feel your feelings. All of them
49 - Prepare for a dramatic change in the rules
50 - Yes, do/create it
51 - Prepare yourself before a storm
52 - Calm your mind and relax
53 - Reach out and engage, gently
54 - Avoid if possible -- this is an unpleasant compromise at best
55 - Relax and enjoy
56 - Take a risk
57 - Listen deeply to your intuition
58 - Enjoy the pleasure of the rose, but beware its thorns
59 - Go deep within spiritually
60 - Understand and accept a limitation -- for now
61 - See the wisdom this situation is teaching you
62 - Be patient and guarded in a frustrating situation
63 - This is exactly right -- for now
64 - Accept that you cannot know the answer, for now
 
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rosada

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Thank you for writing this out for all of us to read! It provides a way to quickly review the I Ching path and become more aware of it.
 

moss elk

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Decent summary overall.

I think the 1 , 11, and 27 are way off the mark though.
 

Trojina

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The problem is with any attempt at abbreviation of hexagram meanings there will be a massive loss of meaning. There's a massive loss of meaning even as short advice. I mean obviously they won't always mean that as advice. None of them will always be that advice.


But liquidity said


If you had to state for each hexagram, in a quick phrase, what it was telling you to do, given your own personal feelings & experiences with them, what would your phrases be? Here are mine, off the top of my head:


...she's saying 'if you had to' , if someone was holding a gun to your head to produce a line of advice for each hexagram what would it be ?


I think it's quite a clever attempt though, I like 23 as 'stop trying', can't go with 31 as advice to use persuasion....I like 35 but can't go with 55 as 'relax and enjoy' surely it's time to act not relax. Can't go with 56 either as 'take a risk' nor 3 as 'nourish what you are already growing' You haven't grown anything definite yet.


But I doubt any one of us could do any better at this exercise because the necessity of abbreviation means loss of meaning which I'm sure liquidity knew when embarking. I think it likely we wouldn't wholly agree with anyone's 'short advice' although 5 is fairly unequivocal.
 
F

Freedda

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I can't say for sure, but perhaps creating such a list may be a good way of getting a sense of the hexagrams. However, I agree with Trojina that there can be a danger of leaving too much out if you rely soley on 'short advice.' Besides the depth that the Yi offers - in both the text and the images - a short list does short shrift (as in barely adequate) to the specifics or details of a query.

All that said, I like Bradford Hatcher's web page: Yijing Hexagram Names and Core Meanings, which includes a list of names/titles/handles for each of the hexagrams (from different authors/interpreters/sources), along with key words, a glossary, and his own notes about each.

I find that looking at the names listed here - and the key words and Bradford's notes - usually helps me get a better sense of what a particular hexagram means and how it could apply to a particular query (though for me, many of them don't work or seem applicable).

If I had a gun to my head and was forced to give 'short advice,' this is the list I'd use. I even use it without the gun at head! :duh:


Best, David.
 

hilary

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OK, I'll play - without reading through Liquidity's list, so we can see where we overlap...

  1. Create!
  2. Respond!
  3. Put down roots
  4. Learn from experience
  5. Wait - and go as far as you can towards what you're waiting for.
  6. OK, so you're right, but...
  7. Focus!
  8. Ask what belongs.
  9. Cultivate your own garden
  10. Venture (and stay awake)
  11. Now is the moment to make it happen.
  12. Now is not the moment to make anything happen. Rest.
  13. Join with allies.
  14. Enjoy by sharing.
  15. Be realistic.
  16. Build castles in the air
  17. Follow, be guided
  18. Dig into the causes of these symptoms
  19. Be present, step up.
  20. Step back and witness.
  21. Get to grips with this.
  22. Make it visible.
  23. You are undergoing loss. No advice - nothing to be done.
  24. Find your inner compass; get quiet and listen for the seeds.
  25. Let go of what is not yours.
  26. Master what is yours.
  27. Become aware of your needs and how they influence you.
  28. Take action to avoid collapse.
  29. Dive deep and have courage.
  30. Nurture your capacity for insight.
  31. Let yourself be moved.
  32. Make a habit of it.
  33. Back off to avoid being eaten.
  34. Stand firm.
  35. Seize the day.
  36. Hide your light.
  37. Create a home.
  38. Be different (and keep your sense of humour)
  39. Find a different way, and find help.
  40. Stop 'should'ing.
  41. Let it go, downsize, give things up.
  42. Pour more in.
  43. Make your mind up.
  44. You'll have to work out what on earth to do with this. All I'm saying is no, it's not a good fit.
  45. Gather your resources and invest.
  46. One step at a time.
  47. Turn inward.
  48. Take great care of your relationship to what you depend on.
  49. Change your governing principle.
  50. Contain and transform.
  51. Hold to what matters and what endures, even now.
  52. Don't react.
  53. Slowly, slowly, coming together. No, slower than that.
  54. You'll have to adapt.
  55. Crux point - the buck stops here.
  56. When in Rome...
  57. Get inside it.
  58. Get into conversation with it.
  59. Let it scatter, dissolve, become free...
  60. Define limits, set terms - just make sure they taste good to everyone.
  61. Know your truth.
  62. Act on your truth - carefully, the world is bigger than you are.
  63. Keep on beginning.
  64. Don't commit too soon.

Things I noticed as I went along: Trojina is right, you end up being very selective, and what you pick is probably not going to be what it means next time. Also, the most economical way to express the idea does tend to be the name and imagery of the hexagram. Trying to describe hexagram 10's advice without mentioning tigers leads to the most ridiculous waffling.
 

rosada

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I find the Image tends to sum up the lesson in each hexagram so here is my summation of the advice from each Image:

1. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
2. It takes one to know one.
3. Lead follow or get out of the way.
4. The job's not over till the paper work is done.
5. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.
6. Don't sign anything till you read the fine print.
7. Money can't buy love - but it sure keeps the grandchildren in touch.
8. Good fences make good neighbors.
9. Dress for success.
10. When I was a child I spake as a child...but now it is time to put away childish things.
11. You can't always get what you want, but you just might find you get what you need.
12. I wouldn't do that for love or money.
13. Birds of a feather flock together.
14. Don't worry. Be happy.
15. Expect the best. Prepare for the worst.
16. Strike up the band!
17. Follow your bliss.
18. Wake up, Sleepy Head!
19. Each one teach one.
20. See and be seen.

...to be continued.
 

my_key

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What better thing is there to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon but have some fun....

  1. Keep lining up those dragons
  2. Give a little bit
  3. Birth the baby
  4. Ripen and grow
  5. Water the crop some more
  6. Diplomacy
  7. Stand and be counted
  8. Look towards new horizons
  9. Cultivate pastures new
  10. Be vigilant
  11. Feel the vibes
  12. Bad vibes
  13. Common purpose
  14. Realisation
  15. Don’t get too big for your boots.
  16. Reap the rewards
  17. Thy will be done
  18. Where did all these worms come from?
  19. Every cloud has a silver lining
  20. Understand the meaning
  21. Really, really get to the bottom of the matter.
  22. Let that silver lining appear.
  23. Eliminate the negative and plant your seeds.
  24. Rising from the grave.
  25. Own what is yours.
  26. Learn from the Past
  27. Build for the Future
  28. Making the Break
  29. Do whatever it takes
  30. Dance a new dance
  31. Dance like no one is watching
  32. Cementing things in place.
  33. Take a step back
  34. Carpe Diem
  35. Softly, softly catchy monkey.
  36. One step forward two steps back
  37. Find a like-minded community
  38. Step out on your own – trust yourself
  39. The old ways are not always the best ways
  40. Unblock that drain
  41. The Great Subway Giveaway
  42. The Train’s at the Platform – “All Aboard!”
  43. It’s Make-your-Mind-Up time
  44. All things are possible.
  45. Line up your ducks.
  46. Find the great in yourself
  47. Walking the Plank.
  48. Flushing and reconnecting.
  49. The Powerwash
  50. Re-imagining the cauldron.
  51. We’re in for a good old storm
  52. Calmly ride it out, it will dissolve.
  53. Take flexible tiny steps
  54. Shotgun wedding or not…..it’s going to happen
  55. Honeymoon on a lilo
  56. This all seems rather new and disconcerting
  57. Explore the new lay out.
  58. Breathe in, breathe out – shake it all about
  59. A new broom sweeps clean
  60. Practice Discernment
  61. Join the Dots
  62. Limbo Land
  63. The soup’s nearly ready.
  64. The Main Course is to follow

Lots of mixed metaphors and some fun.
Enjoy.
 

hilary

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I probably disagree with about 2/3 of those, but they're great fun. (Especially 49!)
 

moss elk

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I agree that the images are usually good Synopsis.

Ok, I'll try:

1-Lead and Make it happen.
2-Follow and Help it happen.
3-Reach out to others for what you need.
4-Learn, you don't know everything, dummy.
5-Smile and Live while you Wait.
6-Only fight when you must. (and will win)
7-Organize, Discipline, and work together.
8-Join with.
9-Polish your Chickens. :]
10-Tread Carefully.
11-Yes, In Harmony, help and protect.
12-No thanks.
13-Be in fellowship.
14-Lots of stuff, Steward it.
15-Get Real.
16- !
17- I accord. (as opposed to accord with me)
18- Something is Rotten.
19- Near and oversee.
20- Look, look some more, then some more. Then, you'll know what to do.
21- Enact and enforce.
22- Make pretty.
23- Give, or have it Taken from you.
24- Take a Break from that.
25- Proceed, untangled.
26-Polish and trim your Grown-upness.
27-Eat and Feed with what nourishes.
28- That is too much too bear.
29- Have the eyes of a Survivor.
30- Rise and Shine.
31- Be open to the influence.
32- Keep on Keepin' on with that.
33- Remove yourself from _.
34- Don't be hard-headed and hard-acting dimwit.
35- Do what you should, and prosper.
36- 'No sir, I haven't seen any wealthy people around here for you to rob. We're all poor. Hey nice hat. I'm off to collect piles of poo for my stew.'
37- Do and say the important and real things for the family.
38- Everyone can't be as awesome as I am, but I can still hang out with them.
39- This Road is closed, find a different way.
40- Untie and don't hold that hot coal.
41- Less is More.
42- Improve by course correction and emulating example.
43- Now, that's a problem. Let's find a peaceful solution and refer it to the authories.
44- Caution, more than you bargained for.
45- Get it Together.
46- A jouney of a thousand miles begins with one footstep.
47- This Really Sucks, but I have to do it.
48- Have you tried the water? Nice Rope, I have a bucket, maybe we should...
49- Time for change, or is it?
50- Cooking something up, mind it.
51- Well, that was shocking. Back to work.
52- It's Stiller-Time.
53- You'll get there eventually.
54- Ground Prize??? I thought you said Grand Prize!
55- There is a lot going on, get a grip.
56- Be a good guest.
57- Influence and adapt.
58- Have fun with your friends and study partners.
59- get thee away from me.
60- Am I coloring inside the lines?
61-Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.
62- I bet if we duck, we can make it there safely.
63- The fat lady has sung.
64- Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

Something like that. :)
 

my_key

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I probably disagree with about 2/3 of those, but they're great fun. (Especially 49!)
Looking at them today I'd tend to agree that some of them are perhaps capturing only a small element of the wider picture. I'll put a serious head on one day and see what I can come up with then.

But then again ..... a one liner is always going to miss the full nature of the hexagram.
 
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hilary

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Looking at them today I'd tend to agree that some of them are perhaps capturing only a small element of the wider picture. I'll put a serious head on one day and see what I can come up with then.

But then again ..... a one liner is always going to miss the full nature of the hexagram.

Quite. Probably best undertaken without too much serious, on the whole.
 

charly

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I probably disagree with about 2/3 of those, but they're great fun. (Especially 49!)
What better thing is there to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon but have some fun ...
Hi, Hilary & Mike:

[49]The Powerwash
...
49 Power-washing cobwebs.
Getting free of lasting worries.
Acquiring new ones, maybe worse...
but that's another story!

Best wishes,

Charly
 
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charly

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... if someone was holding a gun to your head to produce a line of advice for each hexagram what would it be ? ...
Hi, Trojina:

64 times: «Be merciful, please!»

Of course, I don't like guns, even as metaphors but, out of joke, it makes me think...

Hexagram pair 1-2:
If dragon is pistol, eathenware is target.
At least for traditional approach.

All the best,

Charly
 

my_key

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[49]The Powerwash
...
49 Power-washing cobwebs.
Getting free of lasting worries.
Acquiring new ones, maybe worse...
but that's another story!
Charly
When we dislodge the debris who knows what is lurking underneath

Indiana Jones pulls the brick out the wall and then puts his hand in amongst the spiders....ugh!!
Out of the frying pan into the fire.
 

liquidity

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I enjoy the Oracle of Love (http://oracle-of-love.info/), and have taken the liberty of listing its advice-summaries of each hex using a little editorial judgment and emendation:

1: Take the initiative
2: Allow things to happen
3: Test uncertainty
4: Children
5: Wait, and be optimistic
6: Withdraw
7: Join the crowd
8: A significant spiritual presence
9: Deal with ordinary affairs or to take pleasure in trivial details
10: Focus on yourself and on activities you do alone
11: Hold your strength and build your confidence
12: There is something to be done but effort is likely to be expended in vain
13: Take pleasure in friends and acquaintances
14: Take spiritually meaningful pleasure
15: In relating to others, yield even though you have the strength to have your way.
16: Art weaves a web of enchantment. Remember yourself.
17: Understand, then choose to follow
18: There is something to be done. Do it now.
19: Look ahead by offering encouragement or being encouraged
20: Think and observe
21: Tease or be teased
22: Seek beauty
23: Allow something to come to an end
24: Stay home or return to the starting point
25: Don’t concern yourself with questions of guilt for unfolding events.
26: Let the spiritual influence shine through by restraining your own power
27: Support -- provide or accept it
28: Opposing forces are not evenly matched
29: Sincerity gives strength
30: Communicate clearly
31: Woo or be wooed
32: Continue with whatever you are doing
33: Change course
34: Handle with care
35: Summertime, and the living is easy
36: A light has gone out
37: Attend to family and friends
38: Accommodate differences rather than rejecting them
39: Put things off until the way is clear
40: Let go the brakes and oil the wheels – this is a special time
41: Calm down
42: Controlled excitement
43: A long held aim is within one's grasp.
44: There is an unwelcome presence. Resistance pays
45: A spiritually significant gathering
46: Softly does it
47: Nothing that the right nourishment won’t fix
48: Be mindful of your deeper feelings
49: Prepare for or initiate sudden and drastic change
50: There is a medium or message of cultural communication deserving of your attention
51: Moving hard and fast. Have you got what it takes?
52: Do not disturb
53: "Yes"
54: If there is benefit to be had by compromise, do so. Especially for the sake of love
55: Material nourishment is available -- partake of it and enjoy it in moderation.
56: Love now!
57: Think before you act
58: There's no urgency
59: Gently but purposefully dissolve obstructions
60: Stop
61: Truth is uncomplicated
62: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – and be more careful than the Romans are
63: Too good to be true
64: This is the time to accomplish an aim
 

chingching

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Damn these lists are good. I'm in a cheeky mood, the above was from the oracle of love, I'll riff on it with an attempt of an oracle of lust or something like it. n.b, now after having written them it seems I giving hook up advice.

1: Well now, good morning ;)
2: Yes
3: Is that a candy bar in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
4: You be the teacher and I'll be the student
5: Go tantric
6: The best sex happens after a ...
7: Geiser
8: Give thanks, hold hands,
9: Everyday
10: Then, anything, if you go about it the right way
11: and that's heaven on earth
12: Denial is a particular pleasure
13: Kiss them at the party, but don't kiss your brother
14: Tell them about they're great ass, ets
15: It's all about the give and take.
16: Until you make them sing
17: and they'll follow
18: Take a shower together
19: Start as you mean to go on
20: Delight in the flashbacks, contemplate what you'll get up to next
21: Love bite!
22: line 3
23: Sometimes, you'll break the bed
24: Again?
25: Be together without fault, blame or shame
26: Wait, hold it, hold it
27: Spell the alphabet?
28: Read every line of this hexagram...
29: Is this how love feels?
30: 'I see you'
31: From head to toe
32: All night long
33: Don't let crazy out of the bottle
34: Throw down!
35: Start slowly and keep going
36: Dim the lights
37: Stay home
38: Get your freak on
39: No's make the yesses all the better
40: Let go of control
41: Give it up for tonight
42: Get it even more
43: Tell each other what works
44: Seduce
45: In public
46: 'Bring me a higher love'
47: You can still have fun on your own
48: Well well well
49: Now, I do you
50: The Tripod, ding ding ding
51: Cultivate multiple orgasms
52: Stay present together, body on body
53: Look to the long game
54: Let your partner go first
55: Not too much, after all its midday
56: Be a great guest in someone else's house
57: The soft wind, from lips, along your
58: Joy! share it
59: Dissolve into each other
60: Not before you set the limits
61: Then feel met
62: Make your messages clear
63: Don't fall asleep straight after you're finished
64: Carefully read your partner, it might be time to go again :D
 

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