Reading around safety and being 'controlled' - Hex. 44 (unchanging).

[Max Snowman]

Hello,
I would like to share here a reading I have done recently regarding an issue that has troubled me. Over the last few weeks, I have received some emails that, despite being quite evidently spam, have thrown me into a state of almost paranoia, with the fear that my computer may be spied or controlled. Not that there is anything compromising there. But a recent event that has happened to a friend has reinforced this suspicion, as he seems to have been the object of a conspiracy that has led to him losing his job and resulted in his devices being controlled (I have no way of checking the details of this, but this is his version of the events, and knowing him, I have no reason to doubt him). This, however, has added to the stress related to this issue, as he has led me to believe that the contacts he is keeping with other people may also be monitored. Let me make it clear that there is no evidence of him having done anything wrong, apart from living openly as a gay person (in Italy). This kind of harassment for one's sexual identity seems out of proportion to me, in 2024, but knowing Italy (which is where he lives and where I, part time, live too - as I am resident in the UK now, but do go back from time to time) it wouldn't completely surprise me. Anyway, hopefully this gives a bit of context, and irrespective of what's happening to this friend, I have decided to do a reading to establish whether my fears of being controlled are just 'paranoia' or whether there is some truth to it, and if so, how could I protect myself, as I have been feeling my sense of safety being challenged by these events. The question I posed was: "I would like to ask the oracle regarding my levels of safety regarding this issue - especially when in Italy". The reading was quite 'dry', as I have obtained hexagram 44 ("Coming to meet"), without changing lines. So, I'm not so sure whether the reading has reassured me or not, as I can't quite come to an interpretation that either satisfies me or that makes sense consistently. Therefore, I would be curious to hear what other members of the community make of this reading. I can add further details if it helps.
Many thanks in advance!

 

[marybluesky]

Hello,

One title of 44 is "the infiltration of inferior men", which seems to affirm your spying suspicion. It can be considered a cyber attack.

Because the hexagram is unchanging and it indicates a raw force that can't be integrated (married), I don't see any further threats coming from it. That said, the image shows someone who spreads commands. Do whatever legal action you can against the infiltration.

 

[Liselle]

A member here posted a memorable example of 44 as jump-starting a car. Everyday people (I think) do this themselves all the time without injury, but still I imagine you'd want to be careful and attentive and respect the power you're working with.

Are the spam emails related to your worries about being physically in Italy? Did they come from people in Italy, for instance?

I don't know anything about computer security, but are there things you could do to protect it, or have it checked by someone if you're worried about spyware on it or something?

 

[Max Snowman]

Hello,

One title of 44 is "the infiltration of inferior men", which seems to affirm your spying suspicion. It can be considered a cyber attack.

Because the hexagram is unchanging and it indicates a raw force that can't be integrated (married), I don't see any further threats coming from it. That said, the image shows someone who spreads commands. Do whatever legal action you can against the infiltration.

Many thanks. At least the unchanging lines seem to imply that nothing significant will follow. That's already a relief.
In terms of legal actions, there isn't much I can do; I can try and report, but spam emails are not an infrequent occurrence. It's hard to say if I have further elements for stating that something is wrong. But I can definitely ask my computer technician to run through it and see if he detects anything suspicious.

 

[Max Snowman]

A member here posted a memorable example of 44 as jump-starting a car. Everyday people (I think) do this themselves all the time without injury, but still I imagine you'd want to be careful and attentive and respect the power you're working with.

Are the spam emails related to your worries about being physically in Italy? Did they come from people in Italy, for instance?

I don't know anything about computer security, but are there things you could do to protect it, or have it checked by someone if you're worried about spyware on it or something?

Thanks for your reply. The spam emails were in Italian and referring to Italy but they may have been sent from wherever. When I checked the sender, they invariably redirected me to frauds that apparently have targeted many people (Including my mother in the past). The advice was also to bin them immediately even though in a couple of cases I have opened the attachments, which I hope didn't cause further problems. But certainly, being the emails connected to Italy, they do challenge my sense of safety there. My general sense is that there is no concrete danger; however, I would like to understand how to best act in order to diffuse what's been going on, rather than making it worse! What do you make of the lines being all unchanging? Is it right to assume that there will be no developments?

 

[Liselle]

Well, I'm not good with unchanging readings. I find them tricky. But other people don't.

I wouldn't assume it means no developments, because that assumes the relating hexagram is the future and usually it's not, usually it's more the context, something subjective to you.

A couple of ways you might think about it are, one, that it could be sort of a one-word answer. All the change is contained in 44, there's no influence or interaction from/with any other hexagram.

Another way could be that it has a question mark over it, it's asking you a question. Like, "Encountering...and...?" Or that you need to think about what your role could be, or maybe what you should do if you're faced with 44 but your role is unclear. That sounds confusing, but in a thread about experiences with 10uc, I remember one where someone asked about a hurricane. It turned out it missed her house, but the question might have been is it good idea to count on that when there's a tiger coming (hexagram 10).

Here's the thread about 44uc experiences: https://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/fri...s-with-unchanging-castings-hexagram-44.18723/

I hate to say this, but opening the attachments worries me. If it were me, I think I might at least run a couple of different kinds of scans for malware and viruses. I don't know anything about it...all I ever use is the scanner that comes with Windows. You could start with that, whatever comes with the system you have.

Your friend and your mother have actually had things happen. I think it'd be wise to take this seriously.

 

[Max Snowman]

Thank you for your reply. I find there are some useful threads in there. First of all, that "it could be sort of a one-word answer. All the change is contained in 44, there's no influence or interaction from/with any other hexagram". I will sit more with the hexagram and see what emerges for me. I also appreciate the invitation as if it were asking me a question. I will explore more the threads you have posted around unchanging hexagrams, and especially the 44 experiences.
As for more practical steps, I have already run a number of scans and nothing major seems to be flagged up as dangerous. So, either the danger is there but invisible (I may have the computer checked by a technician - but I was also reading that phones are prone to cyber attacks too), or it's no longer there, or it's been averted. It's hard to say at this stage which is which. But I have a couple of curiosities I would like to ask, if I may: I have used the I-ching extensively for years, but I still have a question (I don't consider myself an expert, by all means, even though I have a certain familiarity with the oracle). That is: when you get an unchanging reading you ignore the changing lines, right? Or would you still read them and take them into consideration in order to widen the context?
The second question is: whenever a time frame is somehow indicated in the reading (like in this case, June-July), do you literally take it as an indication of when some event relevant to the reading may take place? I am saying this just as it occurs to me that that in itself could contain some indication of a timeline, given the time of year of the reading (as we are in May now). I imagine there is no hard and fast rule to this, and as always, one must be open to a more intuitive reading of the oracle, but I'm just curious. Many thanks again.

 

[Liselle]

Where does June-July come from? I know there are calendar associations with hexagrams, but I'm not familiar with them. (So I can't answer your question, only ask you one...)

Really glad to hear the scans have come out okay! If you know where to find a technician, it might not be a bad idea to do that, too. 44 also has a theme of something that seems innocuous, but if you let it in it could undermine you (the solitary yin line at the bottom). As you probably know, some malware is on a timer to deploy well after you download it. Is that why you asked about calendars?

Lines in an unchanging hexagram... they're definitely not direct advice because they're not moving, but you can get a general idea of a theme. For instance 34's lines are about wielding power, constructively or badly. So when you get 34uc you could poke around in the situation looking for something like that (but then remember you didn't actually get any lines as advice).

 

[Max Snowman]

Where does June-July come from? I know there are calendar associations with hexagrams, but I'm not familiar with them. (So I can't answer your question, only ask you one...)

Really glad to hear the scans have come out okay! If you know where to find a technician, it might not be a bad idea to do that, too. 44 also has a theme of something that seems innocuous, but if you let it in it could undermine you (the solitary yin line at the bottom). As you probably know, some malware is on a timer to deploy well after you download it. Is that why you asked about calendars?

Lines in an unchanging hexagram... they're definitely not direct advice because they're not moving, but you can get a general idea of a theme. For instance 34's lines are about wielding power, constructively or badly. So when you get 34uc you could poke around in the situation looking for something like that (but then remember you didn't actually get any lines as advice).

Hi, apologies for the late reply. This is the spot where there is a reference to timing in hex. 44 (right at the very beginning):

"This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below. Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male. It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences.

The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June–July], because at the summer solstice the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again".

I have found reading the thread around the unchanging 44 readings quite useful too, and I started to wonder whether an aspect may refer to, in fact, an inner "principle of darkness" so that the reading could hint at 'paranoia' somehow; i.e. 'marrying' inner perception rather than actual reality, and thus being swayed.

Could it be that this is what the hexagram is really hinting at, rather than an 'actual' danger?

Just a thought that's been growing in me since sitting with the reading.

Also, I do get that the changing lines may help to "set the scene" of the reading, but the lines being unchanging in the reading itself, they do not point to any actual advice.