A picture of Hexagram 44 from Paulo Coelho
Hexagram 44 seems to be the most-debated hexagram of the lot. Should we be afraid of what the yin line in the first place represents? Of encroaching evil, temptation, the thin end of the wedge? (Not to mention the unspeakable horrors of ‘a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself’.) Or should we be nurturing a new life, welcoming it with respect? Much discussion ensues.
When I read good books, I sometimes find myself wanting to pencil in a hexagram in the margins. These excerpts from Paulo Coelho’s Veronika decides to die seem to me to paint a vivid picture of Hexagram 44 – an aspect of it, at least.