Hilary Barrett, I Ching

… when it says ‘mature people, good fortune,’ substituting ‘hyper-caffeinated headless chicken’ actually doesn’t work.
As you probably know, I’m running an I Ching Class from April through June. Getting everything ready for this - the technical stuff, the class notes and reference materials, the private forum, the ways for us to work together on [...]

… in your I Ching reading journal.
Recently I’ve been thinking (with help from some wise and generous mentoring clients!) about what can show up when you review a series of readings. The way they start to fit together, unfolding a single story or interweaving many themes, always gives me goosebumps.
Sometimes it’s unmissable. I recently spoke [...]

I asked Yi what a New Year is, and learned that it’s ‘Sprouting’s Brightness Hidden’ - fertile creative potential, shrouded or maybe cocooned in darkness.
And specifically, a New Year is like,
‘Pursuing a stag with no forester,
Simply entering into the centre of the forest.
A noble one reads the subtle signs and sets this aside.
Going on: [...]

It’s the New Year. There are resolutions, fresh intentions, and a sense of finishing off one ‘segment’ of life and starting a new one. And my Inbox is filled fit to burst with offers, every one of which is the only thing I must have to ensure that 2008 is a success.
I’m as encouraged and [...]

Well, I’m nicely immersed in all things Christmassy, from tree lights and outings and wrapping paper to the strange dearth of Brussels sprouts in the supermarkets. (Is there a national shortage? Why did nobody tell us?) I fetched my brother over on the 21st, and I’ll take him back on the 28th, so we get [...]

Yesterday was my birthday, and - as I always do - I cast a reading asking for guidance for the coming year. I’d just spent a couple of days reviewing the previous year: the plans I’d had, goals I’d set… and forgotten all about, or missed utterly… . It wasn’t exactly heartening (and nor was [...]

I asked,
“What is it about Yi that makes it precious as a spiritual ‘tool’?”
And received Hexagram 15, Integrity, with no changing lines.
This is one of those answers that gives me an immediate glow of recognition - and then unwraps like a gift, with more and more shining layers.
The name of Hexagram 15 is made [...]