Note to self re-hexagram 7

… 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 the calls and get the most out of the group… – is quite a challenge. I asked Yi what it would take for me to get it all done, and received Hexagram 7, the Army, unchanging.

It’s one of those ‘instant recognition’ readings: it takes focus, self-discipline, responsibility, accepting and enlisting all your resources, and getting stuck in. I’ve had Hexagram 7 in work-related situations before; I know how it feels.

Then yesterday, in a tearing hurry, I set up two special sales pages where I Ching course owners can sign up for the class at a discount, and sent out emails to invite them to come look. At least, that was what I thought I did. To cut a long and embarrassing story short, I first managed to send 141 blank emails, then sent a few people two copies of the subsequent ‘oops, sorry’ email before realising what I was doing and hitting ‘delete’ in a hurry, and finally, later that day, found I’d messed up the login form on one of the pages.

Apart from that, it all went perfectly smoothly.

(With the next newsletter, which I’ll send out tomorrow, I’ll be making the remaining class places available to Friends.)
Anyway, all this reminds me always to use the text to anchor my sense of a hexagram. Every word’s there for a reason. The ‘mature person’ (Wilhelm’s ‘strong man’) is represented by a hand holding the number ‘ten’. The word means a unit of measurement, to measure or survey, and an elder. As well as energy and ‘get things done’ drive, the army needs this calm, competent presence to hold it together. Without it, you end up with a mob instead – or see above re-chickens, comma, headless.