Case Study
A user asks the I Ching about her business constellation which has served her well for a long time. Recently, however, she felt that it was time for a change as she wanted to focus on a different target group in the future. The I Ching answers with hexagram 59 – dispersion. The title, dispersion, confuses her: does it mean that she should liquidate her old business and then to start all over again in a new constellation?
At the beginning of hexagram 59 – dispersion is Kan, the water (lower trigram), which refers to our own source of being, our unconscious. But what exactly is our source of being?
I think it is important to understand that we are all part of a network of mental fields that determine our actions. Our source of being is a kind of wise distillation of our own – and sometimes other people’s – information and experiences, most of which lie beyond our daily consciousness. “Gut feeling” is eventually a good term to describe this pool from which impulses and inspirations emerge – to the extent that each person allows them – which in turn can initiate our actions.
And that is what happens here: Kan transforms into Zhen, the thunder (first core character), representing ruling power and a determined implementation of the decisions made. As Zhen emerges from Kan it might be a good idea to go with your gut. After all, our gut instincts are beyond language and thus feed on much more information than the sharpest intellect. An action initiated by a gut decision usually has much greater wisdom and power than one rooted solely in our conscious mind.
Next, Zhen turns into Gen, the mountain (second core character): disengagement and dissolution arise from the initial decision. Such a sequence of trigrams (Kan – Zhen – Gen) usually does not indicate an active, willful disengagement but rather a situation, in which the old (the withered, past structure) first persists and later on slowly dissolves, while the new structure is already growing. In this way, the old is slowly overgrown by the new, it is absorbed and / or integrated. Regarding the user’s initial concern: Hexagram 59 – dispersion certainly does not indicate that she should liquidate her old business before starting a new one. Rather, she should continue in the old form for some time while gradually building up something new.
Gen eventually becomes Sun, the wind / tree (upper trigram), a seemingly gentle, but actually inexorable growth, similar to a tree breaking through stone over time. The extent of the user’s personal and / or business growth will ultimately depend on how deeply the initial decision is rooted in her own, wise source of being, her own gut feeling.
Further Questions on Hexagram 59
- A user asks: “What should I consider when changing my home? I want originality, more authenticity, more harmony between inside and outside.”
- One user asks: “Will my ex-girlfriend and I get back together?”
- Another user lost his various jobs during the pandemic period with all its lockdowns, everything was canceled. On the other hand, his livelihood has never been really good in the past years, money has always been tight. So he asks the I Ching the following question: “What do you advise me to do professionally?” The answer is 59 – dispersion.
- A user has been relieved of many mental burdens in the last three days. Before that he lost his livelihood and his house. His question to the I Ching concerns his inner state.
- One user describes the situation as follows: “I feel that a passionate relationship with another woman is on the horizon for my partner. I can only wait until it becomes clear and in the meantime think of my exit strategy. Love desires are natural forces. When I consulted the I Ching, hexagram 59 – dispersion changed to hexagram 23 – splitting apart. The answer could not be more appropriate.”
- One user writes: “My girlfriend has canceled our vacation together twice now. The second time she even said she couldn’t continue the relationship with me either. Even though everything was harmonious. What is she afraid of? Is she afraid of sexuality?”
The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/878877.htm
