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47

man and woman in cangue

Crime and punishment

Some Yijing imagery is immensely straightforward to relate to. I was having the ‘What do you do?’ conversation a few weeks ago, and a friend asked me what kind of thing readings said, and how they answered questions. ‘Imagine,’ I said, ‘you’re asking about taking on a new voluntary role,… Read more »Crime and punishment

Chinese bronze chariot

Where to go?

‘Where to go?’ was Lilian’s reading for this episode of the podcast; Yi answered with Hexagram 47, Confining, changing at lines 2 and 4 to 8, Seeking Union – changing to – which is a lovely example of Yi answering the person even when I couldn’t quite see how it… Read more »Where to go?

mouth of a cave with lake stretching out into sunlight

Memoirs and Inner Truth

In this podcast episode, Elisabeth asks Yi, ‘What approach or attitude should I adopt to have the best chance of serving other people through my writing?’ Yi answers with Hexagram 61, Inner Truth, changing at lines 1, 4 and 6 to Hexagram 47, Confining – very apt hexagrams, as the… Read more »Memoirs and Inner Truth

stone troll

Troll Story

In which you will encounter hesitation, second-guessing, repetitious readings, decision, ‘contradictory’ moving lines (what do you do with those?), a good dose of common sense and a particularly persistent troll. Also these readings… Hexagram 18, Corruption, changing at line 3 to 4, Not Knowing: changing to Hexagram 49, Radical Change,… Read more »Troll Story

Not a mistake

Recently, I heard someone say that the phrase ‘no mistake’, wu jiu 无咎, occurs so often in the Yijing that he tends to ignore it in readings. Well… you know how I generally feel about ignoring bits of readings… so, naturally, I dived back in to see what more I… Read more »Not a mistake

small box of 9 chocolates

‘Character’ hexagrams: Confined, the Well, and Subtly Penetrating

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series The 'character' hexagrams

Hexagram 47, Confined Confining is de’s test. It is hard-pressed, and wholly connected. It is used to lessen resentment. Wilhelm/Baynes calls 47 the ‘test of character’, which is memorable – but the meaning isn’t so much what ‘puts you to the test’ as the test that identifies something by differentiating… Read more »‘Character’ hexagrams: Confined, the Well, and Subtly Penetrating

great tree

Yi’s kindness

It’s easy to become preoccupied with how beautiful, subtle and complex the Yijing is – there are endless layers and dimensions to discover – but more than anything, I keep coming back to its kindness. For example, the readings I cast when a close friend had just been diagnosed with… Read more »Yi’s kindness