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I Ching

To change, first tie on your boots

Brad Hatcher points out that 14 out of 64 hexagrams’ first lines mention feet. I wonder whether there isn’t a fifteenth implied at 49.1: ‘For binding use yellow cowhide’ What might you bind with yellow cowhide? It could be a tethered animal, of course, as Rutt suggests. But looking at… Read more »To change, first tie on your boots

When is constancy a good idea?

In the Words of Change glossary (coming up within the next week or two) I’ve written this about constancy, zhen: “…We have a vision of the future – not what’s inevitably going to happen, but what it is right for us to bring into being. You can conceive of this… Read more »When is constancy a good idea?

The wild geese at the shore

There’s a lot going on in the first line of Hexagram 53: ‘Wild geese gradually advance to the shore. The small child, danger, There are words, No mistake.’ This is the first stage in the journey of the wild geese as they gradually draw close to their natural home. Now… Read more »The wild geese at the shore

A trigram sequence vignette

It’s a worthwhile exercise to look through the Sequence of hexagrams and see how it occasionally uses trigrams to tell stories – not just in its larger landscapes, but on a small scale. I’ve written about this quite a few times before, but I just noticed one that I’d missed… Read more »A trigram sequence vignette

I Ching Class deadline tomorrow

In my inbox today: a very short response to the last edition of ‘Friends’ Notes’: “dear Hilary! not interested. S….” OK, OK. This is positively the last time I’ll mention, and link to, and generally encourage you seriously to consider attending, the I Ching Class. Tomorrow is the final day… Read more »I Ching Class deadline tomorrow