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Stray Kitten: Hexagram 12 Unchanging

galatea11

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Hello,

This morning I encountered a stray kitten (maybe just a few weeks old) and returned later with food and a pet carrier to see if I could get her off the street. Passing neighbors told me that the kitten has been living underneath a row of cars for the past week and was probably separated from a litter of kittens which had appeared at the other end of the block recently. The kitten ate my food and crawled partway into my carrier. A battle royale erupted when I tried to zip her inside the carrier. Kitten escaped and I was left dripping blood and angry at myself for mishandling the situation. Amazingly, the kitten was willing to approach me again later when I brought more food, water. When I asked the I Ching "What is my best course of action regarding the kitten at 8th and Lemon Streets?" I received Hexagram 12 Unchanging. Admittedly this looks like a pretty straightforward reply telling me to separate myself from the situation. From LiSe's site Yijing.nl:

"Sometimes you need a time of no. After a hectic time with worldy pursuits, you need to say no and care for yourself, and then 12 feels like a clear glass of water after a hot dusty day."

I've already bathed my wounds in rubbing alcohol/ Neosporin but I do want to help this kitten if I can. Do you think I should simply leave the kitten alone for now and maybe try again on a different day? Any opinions, advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks so much!

P.S. I already have cats of my own but I would fully commit to getting vet treatment, finding a good home for this kitten if I could get her off the street. If need be I would keep her myself.
 

Liselle

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Poor little dear. :hug:


12 Oracle (from Hilary's book)
'Blocking it, non-people.
Noble one’s constancy bears no fruit.
Great goes, small comes.'


12 Image
'Heaven and earth do not interact.
Blocked.
A noble one uses her strengths sparingly to avoid hardship.
She does not allow herself honours and payment.'



I can think of a couple possibilities.

One is as you said - 12 might be a very straightforward negation. In which case, Yi's telling you there's really nothing you can do, so don't feel guilty if things don't work out.

On the other hand, more optimistically and interpreting the reading in a more complicated way - the reading might be saying the kitten sees you as a "non-person". To a kitten, you're not "a person" - you're not anything he/she recognizes - you're just scary and huge. She doesn't know any different.

"Great goes, small comes" - might be advice to just keep doing the "small" things. Take her food and water. If you can, spend a few minutes nearby while she eats, so she gets used to you and starts associating you with good things. Talk to her.

"A noble one uses her strengths sparingly to avoid hardship." I think that part's pretty clear - if you try to force things (the kitten into a carrier), she'll scratch you - unnecessary hardship for you.

"honours and payment" - that might have to be taken very loosely. Along with "great goes" from the oracle, it might just mean - I'm quoting Hilary's commentary here - "The adaptive response is not to strive constantly to rise to a higher level, but to focus your attention on the small details – the immediate, uninspiring reality."

That might mean not looking too far ahead, such as about taking her to the vet, finding her a home, etc. Of course you can't help thinking about those things a little bit, but maybe don't worry about all of it right now. Cross those bridges when you come to them, knowing that you have the bare bones of a plan. For now just do the little things.

Outside kittens/cats can and do overcome their fear. (I know this personally.) Just keep tending to her, if you can, and she might come around.

(And if it doesn't work out, remember the first possibility for 12 unchanging.)

P.S. I think the fact that she's coming near you at all is a good sign. She could just run away very fast. Kittens are good at that.
 

galatea11

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Thanks soooo much for your response, Lisa. I keep trying to occupy myself with work but then my mind floats back to the kitten. During our third meeting today I gave her food (without ulterior motive) and she came within a few inches of me to eat. Really glad she bounced back from the carrier incident. I was worried that I had permanently traumatized her. Think you are correct about not looking too far ahead - I will simply continue to visit and bring her food/water. People on the block said that she belongs to no one but I do see evidence that people are putting food out for her. One dog walker told me that others have tried to urge her into a carrier too. Possibly someone has already spent more time befriending her and may succeed in getting her off the street sooner than I can. That would be terrific. Honestly, this is not a great area for street cats due to traffic, congestion, city regulations.

Btw.. totally agree with you also about outside cats: I found one of my two cats as a feral kitten on the street and she is a fully domesticated 12-year-old now. Can't say I'm looking for another cat at the moment - just want to do what I can to help this kitten. Felt like she crossed my path for a reason although that may sound silly. For now I will go with the advice you posted:

"The adaptive response is not to strive constantly to rise to a higher level, but to focus your attention on the small details – the immediate, uninspiring reality."
 

Liselle

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That was from Hilary's book - if you're looking for a good I Ching book, I'd recommend it.

Good luck with kitty. Sounds like she has several people-friends. :)
 

galatea11

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Thanks, Lisa, for good luck wishes and book recommendation. I will post any new developments that may shed light on the 12 Unchanging reading. I live in a very "vertical" community with lots of highrises/traffic/apartment buildings so I want to do my part to see that kitty gets help in the urban jungle. The more I think about it.. it does seem like someone else is taking care to monitor the kitty. Even her "water bowl" looked relatively fresh and was made from a plastic cup that someone had carefully cut down to a useful kitten size.
 

Tim K

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My friend found a kitten under the hood of her car after driving for a couple of hours during cold and snowy winter. She heard the cries but at first didn't understand where are they coming from.

To me that is a more clear 'sign' to take care of the kitten. She took him home, went to the vet - kitten was ill and one of the lungs was infected, and after a couple of months of treatment he was fine. I believe he's 4 years old now, living happily with his new Mom :)


As a city-jungle dweller myself, I see many cats living in a basement[technical/plumbing/service floor] of multistory flat buildings. There are central heating pipes so the cats are always warm.
On our block, there are 6 buildings(9 story) situated along the sides, with a rather big courtyard(inner part) which accommodates kindergarten and a school. One of the buildings became a home to about 8 kittens this Spring. Some elderly women feed them regularly. Cats have a lot of space to play and explore, of course it's better than being on an actual street with cars. But their favourite activity is sleeping on cars. Hood, trunk, roof and of course just under the car :)
 
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galatea11

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Thank you, Ashteroid, for your input. Agree that a kitten in my car hood would indeed be more of a sign from the Universe ;) I've lived in some neighborhoods where stray cats were common but this neighborhood seems different. Think the city may periodically do sweeps to pick up stray animals but I'm not sure. Glad your friend was able to rescue the kitten in her car. That is a heartwarming story.

Wow, just realized something interesting. Hexagram 10.3 has correctly predicted upsetting events in my past. I received 10.1.3>44 just 3 days ago on June 10. I had been expecting something potentially disruptive to happen and now I see just how accurate the prediction was. Check out this text regarding 10.3:

Liu: A one-eyed man can see; a lame man can walk. But when they step on the tail of a tiger, the tiger will bite.
-
Even when one's heart is in the right place, partial comprehension and insufficient ability can be expected to create distress.

Those lines, along with numerous other translations of 10.3 (many mentioning the tiger's bite), sum up today's events perfectly. Seeing stray animals always affects me very deeply so I really did want to help. Now my arms are covered with bite marks and scratches from the elbows down.I don't mind the minor wounds but I deeply regret distressing the kitty - if only I had slowed down this morning and remembered the 10.3 reading. Hindsight is 20-20 and I will learn from this. Thanks again for your responses, Ashteroid and Lisa.
 

galatea11

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Greetings,

I'm back with a quick update. Thank you again to Lisa and Tim for your comments regarding my initial 12 Unchanging reading. Lisa, your advice worked perfectly:

"The adaptive response is not to strive constantly to rise to a higher level, but to focus your attention on the small details – the immediate, uninspiring reality." - Hilary

That might mean not looking too far ahead, such as about taking her to the vet, finding her a home, etc. Of course you can't help thinking about those things a little bit, but maybe don't worry about all of it right now. Cross those bridges when you come to them, knowing that you have the bare bones of a plan. For now just do the little things.

Initially I thought I had found one stray female kitten. As it turned out I had stumbled across the encampment of two identical male kittens living beneath a row of parked cars. Now - four months later - both boys are neutered, fully vaccinated, and receiving monthly flea control medicine. Although they stayed with me during their medical treatment they currently reside on the front porch of an old Victorian house divided into apartments. Two families there give them food, water, lots of love each day. I would have liked to keep the kittens with me but my home is less than 500 square feet and I already have two cats. Fortunately I live close enough that I can visit the kittens almost every day.

Used to think that Hexagram 12 Unchanging meant to detach from a given situation but now I view it in terms of more great words that Lisa posted:

"Great goes, small comes" - might be advice to just keep doing the "small" things.

It took many months to get kittens to the spay/neuter clinic but I just kept going through the good and the bad (infected cuts from scratches, suspicions of neighbors who questioned my intentions) and adorable kitties are now healthy, happy, acclimated to humans.

Thanks again for the help!
 

Liselle

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I am so happy to hear this good news! What a lot of fortitude and persistence. I'm sorry you got so scratched up and infected in the process. They are very lucky kitties that you found them. :hugs:

And thank you for updating the thread with the result. The forum really appreciates that.
 

steve

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Yes a great way of applying hexagram 12, little by little, i like it

Steve
 

peter2610

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Yes, I'd agree with Lisa and Steve, Galatea, you've handled this difficult situation with self-control and insight. Hex 12 does imply retreat from decisive action, yes, but I would also suggest that it can imply our observance of the creative process and in order to achieve this we must be prepared to step back and allow the creative process (the Dao) to unfold. The difficulties with this are considerable: our childish egos, once they accept that a higher process is involved immediately expect, AND DEMAND, that a spectacular result ensues thus proving that we were right to retreat. When this doesn't happen our egos immediately seize it, as definitive proof of the non-existence of any higher process and thereby attempt to start an endless period of self-conflict, doubt and despair. The I Ching is guiding you to allow the kittens to fulfil their destiny, as you yourself fulfil yours.

Peter
 
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steve

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Great insight Peter I was wondering if you could give your perspective on 45 Unchanging if I were to start a thread I am trying to look at the hexagram on an individuation level.
 

galatea11

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Thanks so much, Lisa, Peter, and Steve for your encouraging words and supportive comments. I see Hexagram 12 in a whole new light now and am so glad that I posted my initial query here and received such great help with interpreting it. Hexagram 12 was one of the first hexagrams that I recognized on sight when I first began consulting the I Ching because I received it so often. Time after time I would think "Oh, I need to detach from the situation facing me" and neglect to ponder the reading further.

Peter, I think I'm finally starting to grasp what "Dao" really means. I've spent a lifetime trying to inflict my will upon situations rather than simply letting them evolve. Thank you for your insight.
 

peter2610

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You're welcome Galatea, yes, to combine yang strength with yin flexibility is a good starting point. The I Ching is an invaluable guide in learning to recognise the higher process and how we can contribute most appropriately (which is more important than the result). Peter
 
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galatea11

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Hello,

I spend hours perusing old threads on this site and know that many others do the same. Just came across a thought about Hexagram 12 that is so well-stated (and happens to sum up my own recent experience with Hexagram 12 so perfectly) that I want to share it here:

... It makes me wonder if sometimes h12 might not ask for a departure from a certain situation; iow if it is not just a loud and clear No but a conditional No ie; remain enganged yet be aware of the limitations and the influences embedded in that "environment" so they won't derail you.

Anemos posted above in this thread: http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?16778-the-36-ness-of-hex-12 . Just thought quote might be helpful to others who are studying Hexagram 12 in the future. Ironically (or maybe not), I found it while looking up info on 36.1.
 

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