Hi there,

My question to the I ching was "what next?". I am looking for work and that seems to be going smoothly but my main anxt is will I have a child and time is passing. The answer was 23 with changing lines in the first, fourth and top line which gave me the relating hexegram 51. I would appreciate help with interpreting this.

Thank you for your time

Fluffy57

As no one has answered yet and I can't sleep I'll give you my thoughts.

First off, I can't imagine what the strong need to have a child must be like, but I suppose for some women it's very strong indeed. All I can do is I offer my empathy not any real understanding on that score.

Secondly, any desire that we have and which actively interferes with the natural rhythms of our lives then has to be seen and recognised for what it is - sometimes this requires stripping away and shocks. This is the archaic process of transformation in shamanic terms and can be seen in this way for so many of us who get this reading. it doesn't HAVE to be hugely painful process, there all many different degrees. I'm not saying this is wholly the case here, but it's obviously a factor.

Right now it seems you are navigating your way through a transition period and 23 often seems to rise up and bite us in the bottom during these times! Something needs to reach a form of resolution for that transiton to come to fruition successfully. Stripping away is so often seeing things with new eyes, letting go and finding out what is truly real and important. The IC maybe giving you a snapshot of your psychological state.

As I see now, line 1 perhaps iillustrates this anxiety you're feeling but it is not at the stage where it can do you harm and your life in general. It may mean the beginning of the stripping process. Something has to change.

I see line 4 as the place where we get to the crux of the matter. Getting to the core of a condition or situation is almost always difficult and unpleasant. But if we get through it this signifies progress. It could also suggest taking things to extremes and forcing things.

Line 6 suggests the departure of this difficult time. Being at peace with ourselves. Allowing things to seed. There is hope here and new beginnings. New growth and new possibilities.

I like Wilhelm's rendering on this line:

"Here the splitting apart reaches its end. When misfortune has spent itself,
better times return. The seed of the good remains, and it is just when the
fruit falls to the ground that food sprouts anew from its seed. The superior
man again attains influence and effectiveness. He is supported by public
opinion as if in a carriage. But the inferior man's wickedness is visited upon
himself. His house is split apart. A law of nature is at work here. Evil is not
destructive to the good alone but inevitably destroys itself as well. For evil,
which lives solely by negation, cannot continue to exist on its own strength
alone. The inferior man himself fares best when held under control by a
superior man."

Hope these thoughts helped a bit.

topal

Hex 23.1 at the moment lots of problems.

Hex 23.4 still many problems.

Hex 23.6 now your problems have reached their high point and starting to recede.

Hex 51 says for you to expect a shock, a surprise, something good will be coming into your life.

Thank you both for your assistance. The hexegrams are more clearer and I can see the relevance now.

Best regards

Fluffy57

"Any desire that we have and which actively interfers with the natural rhythms of our lives then has to be seen and recognized for what it is - sometimes this means stripping away and shocks." Topal, I had never understood before what the censure against desire was all about. Now I do. Desire disrupts our natural rhythms. Well said. Thank you!