Understanding my reading

[cucaesteved]

Hi,
I am cuca, and I am new here but not to the I Ching, although, I am not sure about that. I've been using the book and different versions for over 20 years now, but I feel I still don't know how to interpret the answers, how to pull out all the benefits from it. So, I did a reading here and I am a bit confused by the answer. That's why I post here hoping that someone might shed some light on it for me.
The question provably was already weak, I still have to learn how to make questions. It was, what is wrong with me or the situation at the moment? Ok, not very clear maybe. I've been living in a different country, The Netherlands, for three years now and I just don't feel right, so I am feeling stuck and at the same time, keep working on my art to try to find solutions to the situation. Anyway, I don't know if this is a good place to publish my lift story here, so I will simply put the answers here and see what you think. Of course I feel Blocked, which was the transformed hexagram, but, is there hope for me or I just have to think that I will just be Blocked forever and no hope of change? Also, there is no more explanatory text for the specific lines, and yes I can consult other oracles, but I was wondering if there was some more text here.
Thank you in advance! I am happy to find this website.

what is wrong with me or the situation at the moment?
Your reading resulted in the following hexagrams:
Hexagram 61.1.2.4 to 12
Hexagram 61, Inner Truth
Key Questions
Where do you place your trust?
What feels true?
Oracle
‘Inner truth. Piglets and fishes, good fortune.
Fruitful to cross the great river.
Constancy bears fruit.’
The old Chinese character for ‘Inner’ probably shows a drum mounted on a pole. It suggests centrality and
balance, and also the vibrations that carry through inner space. And the character for ‘Truth’ shows a bird’s
claw over a child, suggesting the mother bird protecting her young. It also means confidence, and the sincerity
that inspires it – absolute presence and concentration, creating a true connection. The very present truth
vibrates through you like a drumbeat; you apprehend it directly as an inner resonance. The lines of the
hexagram itself show a space at the centre, open to listen and resound with the intensity of experience.
Piglets and fishes are symbols of wealth, plenty and luck. They are staple foods used in humble offerings to
the spirits: to receive piglets and fishes shows that you are in a state of connectedness, and can trust you will
be provided for. Success in ongoing ventures (rearing your pigs), and the insight to be in the right place at the
right time (placing the fishing nets) are both manifestations of your inner truth. And so it is good to commit
yourself: inner truth will naturally move you towards new landscapes, as the inner hollow of a boat would
carry you across the water. You stay true to your understanding by carrying it through into action, translating
the moment of insight into responsiveness as a constant way of living.
Image
‘Above the lake is the wind: Inner Truth.
A noble one deliberates over legal proceedings and delays executions.’
Sequence
Inner Truth follows from Hexagram 60, Measuring:
‘Measuring and also trusting it, and so Inner Truth follows.’
Pair
Inner Truth is paired and contrasted with Hexagram 62, Small Exceeding:
‘Small Exceeding steps over the line; Inner Truth means trust.’
Page 1/3
Changing Lines
Line 1
‘Guided, good fortune.
There is another, no peace.’
Line 2
‘Calling crane in the shadows,
Her young respond in harmony.
I have a good wine vessel,
I will share with you, pouring it all out.’
Line 4
‘The moon almost full,
A horse’s yoke-mate runs away.
No mistake.’
Hexagram 12, Blocked
Key Questions
What work can you do when nothing is working?
Who are you when no-one is noticing?
Oracle
‘Blocking it, non-people.
Noble one’s constancy bears no fruit.
Great goes, small comes.’
Nothing moves or grows, communication doesn’t happen, everything is negated and blocked – and this is
because of ‘non-people’. That may mean that some people are a consistently, exclusively and pathologically
negative influence and sabotage all attempts at progress. It can also refer to perceiving someone as not quite a
real person, explaining their behaviour with labels and stereotypes rather than seeking to understand. In both
cases, there is a complete failure of empathy. This means that your very best and strongest efforts come to
nothing. You can have a soaring imaginative concept of the creative possibilities here; you can have the will to
be true to that concept and carry it through. You’re not doing anything wrong; the problem is that these
creative possibilities are just not available when things are Blocked. Small concerns dominate. 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.
Image
‘Heaven and earth do not interact: Blocked.
A noble one uses his strengths sparingly to avoid hardship.
He does not allow himself honours and payment.’
Page 2/3
Sequence
Blocked follows from Hexagram 11, Flow:
‘Things cannot end with flowing together, and so Blocked follows.’

 

[rosada]

I think here we see an example of how important it is to be clear with the question.

You asked "What is wrong?" and received an answer saying what is wrong is that you are blocked, stagnant, and it probably has something to do with not feeling connected with people. Maybe you had some initial contacts - 61.1.2 - that didn't last - 61.4 - or weren't as supportive as you had hoped they'd be and now the I Ching is saying you're stuck. What the I Ching is NOT saying is whether there is no hope or if you are going to be stuck forever, or what you should do about all this because you didn't ask that.

Rosada

 

[cucaesteved]

Mmmm... Thank you Rosada. Its interesting that the answer is mainly given by the transformed sign. It is a different way of reading than I am used to. I guess I should ask again, those questions I didn't ask.

 

[rosada]

We've had a lot of discussion here at online clarity about how to interpret the second hexagram.

One way to interpret the answer is to try forming a sentences by tying the two hexagrams together such as "Your Inner Truth (61) is Stagnant (12)", which would suggest you need to do something yourself, something to get yourself inspired (like read uplifting books).

Others have pointed out that the second hexagram often defines the context of the situation and then the first hexagram describes your personal position in this larger picture such as "You are in a circumstances that are Stagnant, this is why you are having such difficulties expressing your Inner Truth" - this way of interpreting the hexagrams would put more emphasis on the idea that your difficulties are coming from your outer world circumstances rather than from within and thus this way of interpreting suggests you do something to change the outer world (like get out more, make new friends or even move to a local that is more intone with your inner nature) .

And then there is the idea that one can see what the future will be by considering the first hexagram to represent the present and the second hexagram to represent what the future result will be. This would be the most discouraging way of interpreting your hexagrams as it would read that all your efforts at expressing your Inner Truth will only result in Stagnation, but don't worry, many of us have had experiences where that way of reading the hexagrams didn't prove to be accurate - the future results did not conform to the second hexagram prediction!

So anyway, I think the answer to THIS question is indeed mainly answered in the transformed sign you received but that is not always the case. You can't always assume the second hexagram is The Answer. Personally, it seems to me you often have to just let the reading sink in for a while and it's not until a bit later on that you recognize how you should link the first and second hexagrams.

 

[qafinaf]

This may be saying that 61 is a sense of inner clarity which you intuitively know. I think of this hexagram as the image of the sky reflected in a calm lake.

Your question assumes that something is wrong. In terms of hexagram 61, the question might be, Why am I not experiencing inner clarity? Seeing things clearly and joyfully?

I see 12 as a general answer to that question. Clarity is obscured because heaven is seeking to fly away somewhere and not relate to earth. Earth may be something boring or dark or painful. Heaven is rising higher rather than dealing with or relate to the earth. Hexagram 12 shows that while there may be escaping into heaven, earth is still in the picture and is being ignored or excluded.

The changing lines may give a more specific idea of what's obscuring clarity. Lines 1 and 2 belong to the lake trigram and have to do with offering clarity and joy. Move with care, taking your time, allowing space. In relationship, share clarity and joy. Line 4 seems to deal with misleading impressions, going astray, but no actual harm is done. (This makes me think of self-forgiveness.)

Also, be careful about labeling the situation as "something wrong with me". That is an invalidating attitude. Pay attention to what you think is "right".

 

[cucaesteved]

Thank you all for your answers. It is very inspiring. I think each one has a bit of true, I just have to find my own language to define it. A lot to learn still.
Thanks again
cuca