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I Ching

herring

From my readings journal

In this episode, I share a couple of readings from my journal: ‘What about leaving this volunteering role?’ 32.3 to 40 ‘What do I do when I’m there?’ 61.4.6 to 58 And I talk about conversation with Yi, the interplay of text and structure, catching up with the reading years… Read more »From my readings journal

Not yet

Hexagram 63, Ji ji, Already Crossing, is followed by Wei ji, Not Yet Crossing. Wei 未, ‘not yet’, is the opposite of ji 既, ‘already’. It occurs three times in the Yi in addition to its appearance in Hexagram 64: in the Oracle of Hexagram 48, and in 49.5 and… Read more »Not yet

Ji Already

Already

It can be interesting to look at how the names of the hexagrams are used in the text of the Yijing – I mean, besides in the eponymous hexagram. This happens quite a bit, and while sometimes it’s obviously just normal usage of a common word (like you 有, ‘having’… Read more »Already

mountain camp in the mist

Camping on the left

In this podcast episode, Lucy asks why she’s hesitant to use her gifts – and Yi responds with Hexagram 7, the Army, changing at line 4 to Hexagram 40, Releasing: changing to The moving line: ‘The army camps on the left,No mistake.’ Hexagram 7, line 4 …which certainly casts new… Read more »Camping on the left

U-shaped bend in the road

Limping disentangled

‘Above the mountain, there is water. Limping.Noble one turns himself around to renew his character.’ Hexagram 39, the Image When the Image authors talked of ‘turning oneself around’ in Hexagram 39, they were picking up on a theme in the older layers of text. To start with, the Oracle says… Read more »Limping disentangled

Shennong, the Divine Husbandsman

Hexagrams as culture heroes

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series The Wings

Here’s Wikipedia’s definition of a ‘culture hero’: A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group (cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Chinese mythology seems to be especially full of these: people who are recognised as heroic because they invented millet farming,… Read more »Hexagrams as culture heroes

stepping stones in a Zen garden

Telling the story

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series The Wings

The Xugua – its scope and limits As you may know, I’m a huge enthusiast for the Sequence of Hexagrams: its hidden patterns, the ways it creates meaning, its big reflections and arcs and the way it adds depth to readings. The Xugua, the 9th Wing… is not really about… Read more »Telling the story