Opposing interpretations has me confused. 18.2 to 52

[curious1]

I often find that two opposite interpretations are given to the same hex/line combination. Here is an example. Can someone senior please help me here. I drew 18.2 and found this :

1. Wilhelm's version of 18.2 reads, "Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother. One must not be too persevering." I took this to mean that after taking the pills, the salves and washing all the clothes I was okay and didn't need to go so far as to cancel my visit.
I think basically 18.2 is advising not going too far in attempting to correct situations.
rosada

2. Look at line 18.2, it says that mistakes due to wrong thinking now need and should be corrected. You made a wrong choice years ago and now this would be a fine time to correct it, therefore just concentrate on achieving your goal.

 

[Trojina]

Instead of looking at people's commentaries, which are just their ideas about what Yi says, first look at what the plain words of the I Ching are.


So forget others interpretations for a moment what does Yi say ?

It says

'Ancestral mother's corruption,
Does not allow constancy'

(from Hilary's book)


Think for yourself of all the ways mothering can be corrupted and then apply to your situation. How can our mothering impulse get corrupted ? You may come up with an idea all your own and that will answer your question. Can being mothered , being looked after, go wrong in the same ways.

For me it kept coming up when I was trying to offer care when I had inadequate resources myself. I'll find a wiki quote of mine to save time

I have found this line repeatedly depicting situations where I have aimed to offer far more care , of all kinds, for others than I can realistically deliver and hence have been unable to deliver it. In the end you can't offer what you don't have to give. I think the corruption of the mother might be 'over mothering' , mothering gone too far, caring for others gone too far. The whole vast archetypal image of what mothering really is is called into question here. In some way it has gone awry. Perhaps it might also be about over mothering/under mothering the self sometimes also ? The flip side of too much care must also be neglect. So far I have known the neglect aspect of bad mothering to be far less obvious but I imagine it must be some part of the meaning of this line. Perhaps overmothering is also a form of neglect. Trojan

You mentioned salves and clothes washing but I have no idea what the question was. In general perhaps you can't keep on giving if you don't have enough to give....or maybe you haven't been given enough mother's care and this has impacted on your current relationships/psyche. it's a mothering issue whatever it is

 

[bradford]

It just says that it doesn't call for a firm or determined approach.
Things still need fixing, but it's calling for more finesse and flexibility here.

 

[curious1]

Thank you Trojan, this was really helpful. The part about washing was in Rosada's reply to another person.

I received an email, to which I finished writing a response, but while I was happy that what I wrote came from my heart, my response felt odd and mismatched in a strange way. I asked the Yi what do I need to know about this email. Got Hex 18.2 to 55. So I tried to figure out what this means in the forum :
I must not be too persevering to set right what was spoilt by the mother.
Fix what went wrong some time ago and keep that goal in mind.

After thinking about it, the email I received was someone's very negative take on an event and life in general. This half-glass view of life was created by her childhood and neglect from her mother and it caused huge mistakes in the past. (still does) Her mother still lives with her and the negativity is ongoing.

I need to think about what Yi is showing me, but I am not sending the email for now. The childhood stuff needs to change, but another email about this is a waste. I can only persevere with my own changes.

Any comments ?

 

[meng]

As I interpret it, a child that's spoiled by the mother generally implies a lack of personal discipline: the proverbial spoiled brat or mamma's boy. The result is an adult with a big sense of entitlement, and sometimes a major control freak when they don't get their way. So dealing with them or that part of ourselves in a candid and forward manner isn't typically effective.

So, while ideally it should be corrected, it's not an easy trait to correct once it becomes firmly ingrained, but it can be done if the individual wants to change and become more adaptive.