Superstition and the Yi

[Qiaozhi Yeats]

So some people believe that consulting oracles is blasphemous or haram or forbidden by religious law or the such. The real meaning of these warnings is against superstition. Superstitions "emanate from having a bad opinion of God, not recognising His power and authority in the world, attributing power to inanimate objects, and delving into other similar practices" according to Hamza Yusuf. The essential point is that when one is superstitious, one is denying the Yi. The Yi, or will, acts as it pleases, producing the results of divination and the interpretation. To guard against superstition is to guard against assigning authority to the object used for divination over the Yi itself. When one divines with an oracle, it is because one seeks change, this is why the Yi Jing is called "The Book of Changes". One is seeking change, not superstitious advice. The Book of Changes contains examples of change which one can choose to follow or not, it is the Yi that selects from the Book of Changes, and it is the Yi that decides whether or not to follow the examples that are manifested. It is also the Yi that seeks change in the first place. God is not bound by any form, God has dominion over all form and does as He-She pleases. If it seems as if there is some law, or rule, or structure that God is following, it is merely because God has chosen such a sequence in time and space, which are themselves constructions. The fact that form is bound by time and space is the will of God. The fact that objects are bound by the laws of gravity is the will of God. If God so chooses, other bindings and outcomes that may even contradict these laws and constructions, are possible. Science recognises that all theories can be disproved through observation. Thus science is not superstitious. Superstition is the assigning of absolute unchanging truth to a theory. Even mathematics is ultimately in flux, since numbers are based on repetition and nothing repeats exactly, on the other hand numbers can be based on movement, with the same conclusion. Thus when one consults the Yi, be mindful that one is seeking change, not answers. The answer is given as a response to movement, and contains movement within itself as well. Thank you.