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My most interesting readings so far; 56.3 > 35 and 48.1.2.4 > 49

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Hi all, posting for the first time here, been practicing the I Ching for about 6 and a half months now (though it's kinda on and off, except for the past two months). I just wanted to share the most interesting readings I think I've gotten, so far.

For the first one, I was beginning to become curious about tarot and was about to start looking for resources when I thought the Yi might have something to say about it. I asked, "What is the oracle's opinion on learning tarot alongside the I Ching?" I got 56.3 > 35 and at first glance I thought it was a good sign, remembering the image of fire not staying in one place for long (I use the Wilhelm translation). But then I read the third line and it was immediately clear that the advice is don't do it. Some quotes from the commentary: "He meddles in affairs that do not concern him, thus he loses his resting place." "He treats his servant with aloofness and arrogance; thus he loses the man's loyalty." I interpreted this hexagram to mean that trying to learn another set of archetypes will dull my budding ability to commune with the I Ching. I took the changing hexagram to mean that the deepening my relationship by communing with the Yi more often will provide me with deeper insight than learning a different set of archetypes in parallel.

The second reading was one I saw in a dream. I didn't see an actual hexagram, but I saw myself tracing the number 48 with the pen I use to record readings, followed by the word Ko, traced in the same black ink. I checked my Book and found that Ko is 49, not 48. Rather than assume 48 was a mistake, I trusted my other self and assumed that it was a pair of hexagrams, implying 48.1.2.4 > 49.

I went with the first thing that crossed my mind as I was reading the judgements: I keep molting and changing on the outside but what is inside remains the same. I had been reading a lot of philosophy (besides the I Ching) as well as changing things in my life (starting to work out and study again) and I think this is the molting referred to. The lines were pretty straightforward; at first I was lost and blundering, then with potential, and finally I am working on myself. Finally I interpreted the pair again to mean that progress lies not in accruing more wisdom and concepts or trying to forcibly change myself, but in shedding pretenses, excuses, and bad habits of thought, and rather focus on discovering who I really am and the shape of my unchanging heart.

I hope these readings were interesting to you all, and I'm open to second opinions! (I'm pretty new to this after all.)
 

radiofreewill

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Hi autumn_flowers1111,

I like your reads!

Also, I thought of Jonathan Star translation of the "Tao Te Ching":

Verse 48:

To become learned, gain daily​
To obtain Tao, reduce daily​
Reduce and reduce again​
until all action is reduced to non-action​
Then no one is left​
Nothing is done​
yet nothing is left undone​
One who gives freely and without attachment​
gets a full life in return​
One who gives with the secret hope of getting​
is merely engaged in business​
Truly, they neither give nor receive​
any of the treasure from this world below Heaven​

Thanks for sharing!
 
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Interesting how the verse you were reminded of has the same number as the hexagram I got while echoing my interpretation at the same time. I guess synchronicity is at work again? Thanks for sharing too, it certainly hit close to home as I often catch myself doing things for the reaction it will get, which while it isn't seeking a reward per se, is still operating on the same logic.
 

radiofreewill

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I like the way you think! 🙂

A healthy, balanced ego is strong enough to let itself go...
"And so I no longer hide. I finally made the decision. And soon after, it was clear to see that 90% of the stress I’d carried through out the years was because I hid myself, pretended, smiled when I didn’t want to, silenced myself when my song was emerging from my very skin. I denied myself and so my world inside was a crumbling mess. I stopped hiding and was blown away by how easy it was to live. Living became natural again. And being me was no longer a problem. They don’t teach this stuff in schools but they should. They really, really should. Real living is about unhiding. That’s when everything starts to make sense."​
~ SC Lourie, "Soul Notes of the Butterfly"​

Good Luck!
 

dfreed

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What is the oracle's opinion on learning tarot alongside the I Ching?" I got 56.3 > 35
My take on this is you are being advised that studying the tarot may not be the best thing, right now - but you should not be closed off to the idea that in the future it might be a good thing.

Hex. 56 is called the Wanderer, or the Sojourner. It has the trigram (three line figure) Fire above, with Mountain below. I imagine a wanderer's camp and his/her campfire up on a hill on the outskirts of town.

Wanders have always been a mixed bag from the townie's point of view: we have wandering monks, healers, tinkerers, and poets, but also hobos, robbers, and highwaymen! The text for Hex. 56 indicates a positive view of the wanderers: an augury (omen) for sojourners is auspicious. But still, from the wanderer's point of view it's a good idea to keep your campfire burning - but under control, and you should surround yourself with friends and allies. And also that you should maintain a respectful attitude - as Bob Dylan once said, 'to live outside the law you must be honest'.

And I think this is also describing the proper setting and mindset for studying the Yi - a firm base (Mountain), which serves a as place where (and from which) you can gain clarity, security, and warmth from the Yi (Flame, above).

But now you ask if it's okay to let the Tarot take up residence in your camp. You wonder, is this a good idea? Will it help or hinder my Yi studies? And the Yi responds:

56.3 Sojourner burns the lodging place. Losing his servants boys. Danger.

So, to study the Tarot right now could unsettle your mountain camp (third moving line); and while this might 'shake things up' a bit, it's not what you need, at least right now.

So, I'd suggest that you hold off a bit, and maybe revisit this question, in say six, or nine, or more months, to see if it might be a good time to do so. Based on Hex. 35, my sense is the Tarot might serve you at some point, but maybe not right now - so I would not close myself off to the possibilities.

Hex 35 says: Marquis given horses. They multiply. He mates them several times a day.

It seems that the Tarot can - in the right setting, right time, and done in the right way - multiply and add to your Yi studies. So here, with 35, you are open and accepting (Earth below) to possibilities, which will add to your clarity (Flame above).

When you do decided to look into the Tarot, I suggest you consider Bradford Hatcher's Tarot as a Counseling Language. As a non-tarot person, I've found it a very good intro, and he also offers 'correspondences' where he shows ways that the different Tarot cards correspond and have some connections with Kabbalah, Astrology, and the Yi.

His website as a lot of good resources, including a free PDF and lots of other sources. Here's a link to another thread where I share some of the other resources you'll find on his website

I hope that's of some use to you. D
 
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You wonder, is this a good idea? Will it help or hinder my Yi studies? And the Yi responds:

56.3 Sojourner burns the lodging place. Losing his servants boys. Danger.

So, to study the Tarot right now could unsettle your mountain camp (third moving line); and while this might 'shake things up' a bit, it's not what you need, at least right now.

This is exactly what I thought! The image you had of letting someone else into my camp was very helpful. I'll do check again whether tarot will help, I guess when I feel like I have an intuitive grasp of how to read hexagrams from lines to trigrams to hexagram pairs. Or maybe once I've gotten every hexagram at least twice? Idk. But thanks for the resources and interpretation!
 

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