Will we win against climate change? 45.3 to 31

[Snowie]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster here.

I've been watching the unwillingness of governments to do anything about climate change, despite activists and even school children throwing everything they have behind mitigation, with increasing alarm and despondency. To be frank, I gave up hope a long time ago, but decided last night to see if the i-ching feels I am being fatalistic.

I asked the i-ching: "Are we going to win with climate change mitigation?" Answer: 45.3 to 31. That looks like a definite "No, and the more you push for change the more hurt you will feel when you fail. Give up now."

Okay, perhaps activists are going about things the wrong way.

"Will we win with climate change mitigation if activists change tactics?" Answer: 24.1 to 2. I have no idea what the i-ching is saying here.

Finally I asked:

"What should climate activists do now?" Answer: 10.6 to 58. This reading talks about looking back at what you've done and the responses you got to determine whether you will have a good outcome (Wilhelm). We have tried everything - letters to politicians, protests, pot lucks, education, attending summits like COP, even gluing our hands to the road to block traffic. Nothing is working. The i-ching's line in Wilhelm about the more powerful side not hurting the weaker side because they know they are not a threat just leaves me with the impression that the fossil fuel industry has won and there is nothing we can do. Am I interpreting these readings correctly?

 

[Liselle]

'Gathering together thus, lamenting thus.
No direction brings harvest.
Going on, no mistake.
Small shame.'

I might have my head in the sand, but I don't think that's entirely hopeless.

There's a lot of lamenting (wailing, yelling. gnashing of teeth) - true.

"No direction brings harvest" - there are two ways to see that, and maybe they're both true in this case.
(1) This direction (presumably the lamenting in the first sentence) will not bring harvest. Maybe current tactics won't work, as you're wondering.

(2) Having no direction does bring harvest. That sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it? But here's part of how Hilary explains it in WikiWing:

So it's not like the usual pattern of 45, where being purposeful and directed is good. There's nowhere you can take this to achieve anything real; not trying to direct it at all brings best results. Instead keep going on, one foot in front of the other...

This reminds me of a reading I did recently after hearing that major insurance companies have pulled out of California because they can't deal with the wildfire liability anymore. Of course this makes it really hard and expensive for anyone to insure their homes, which will make people unable to live in California, and California is a big important state and you'd think they won't like this.

I asked Yi for a comment and got 41.2: "Not decreasing, increasing it." I took it to mean this turn of events will drive progress somehow.

I don't know about 24.1, either. It sounds encouraging which is nice, but what exactly is the advice?

WikiWing says various things:
- "someone who has gone off the path, but is returning before they've gone too far, so no need for regrets"
- "this return brings you back to the present moment, and you can grow from here"
- 24.1 changes to 2, so "returning into the field of possibilities - a realm of doing, making things real".

2 is notably not 1 - it's 1's paired hexagram. 1 tends to be inspired, full of ideas and idealism. 2 is the one metaphorically tilling the ground, making actual crops grow, manifesting things. Of course you need both, but the reading seems to say more 2, less 1.

10.6...I agree with this:

This reading talks about looking back at what you've done and the responses you got to determine whether you will have a good outcome

and not so much with this:

the fossil fuel industry has won and there is nothing we can do.

I don't think it's a matter of the fossil fuel industry "winning," although they're not going to volunteer to shutter themselves at 4 o'clock this afternoon.

All of this together seems to me to say reality will out, and the practical side of things (both problems and solutions) will prevail. That happens to coincide with what I think anyway, though, so for what it's worth...

 

[Hans_K]

I asked the i-ching: "Are we going to win with climate change mitigation?" Answer: 45.3 to 31. That looks like a definite "No, and the more you push for change the more hurt you will feel when you fail. Give up now."

Your question implies that the outcome of mitigating climate change is pre-determined and that the Yi is looking into the future for you to see what that outcome is, but I don't think that's how it works. The future is not fixed, the future is determined by the choices you, and all of us, make now.
The Judgment text of H45 talks about coming together and that making a sacrifice has great success. I think you can see this as mitigating climate change requires that we have to do it together and that this requires sacrifices such as changing lifestyles and giving things up.
The text of the Image talks about "Thus the superior person repairs his weapons in order to meet the unexpected." That seems obvious to me, where many people are together to work on something great there will always be differences of opinion and understanding. That's something you have to take into account in advance.
The 3rd line text talks about "Gathering together with sighs.There is nothing beneficial in this." When you want to achieve something you will have to collectively put your energy into the goal you desire and not waste your energy and time complaining and focusing on negative things.
The related hexagram H31 shows that there must be a firm foundation (trigram Mountain below) in social interaction among a group of people (trigram Lake).

Could it be that the Yi's answer also relates to yourself?
"To be frank, I gave up hope a long time ago" this is the attitude the line 3 text says is not beneficial .

"What should climate activists do now?" Answer: 10.6 to 58. This reading talks about looking back at what you've done and the responses you got to determine whether you will have a good outcome (Wilhelm). We have tried everything - letters to politicians, protests, pot lucks, education, attending summits like COP, even gluing our hands to the road to block traffic. Nothing is working.

Perhaps H10.6<>H58 says that there should be a focus on the positive that is happening right now and not a focus on the negative. H10 is the hexagram of diplomacy and being tactful. Pushing against never works.
Blaming someone or making them responsible for something will not cause them to change; on the contrary, the reaction will often be the opposite of what you want to achieve. Hence the line 6 text says, "Examine your conduct and consider whether its effects are favorable."


This would be my interpretation. As always take what resonates and leave the rest