04 – youthful folly

Hexagram 04 – youthful folly is auspicious, the judgement states: “Youthful folly has success…” But that only is true as long as we follow the path of the DAO, the way of the world – rather than to forcing our way onto the world. Or, as most usual, hand control over to our autopilot: unconscious control mechanisms and automated action patterns that may have had validity long time ago but that may be meaningless here and now.

Weiterlesen: 04 – youthful folly

07 – the army


These days – and just as this last question on the list below reached me – I have been thinking about the process of selfactualization. Our self, what-we-are, is a dynamic process that constantly evolves, progresses, “actualizes”, bringing our goals, our desires and intentions into harmony with the realities of life.
But let us first make it concrete. Here are various questions that reached me regarding 07 – The Army.

Weiterlesen: 07 – the army

15 – modesty

Scope of Questions

  • A user is very exhausted by the situation he is in at the moment: a lot of (creative) chaos, construction sites, everything is very demanding. He knows that he should let go of all kinds of things, but he doesn’t know where to start. He asks the I Ching for advice and receives hexagram 15 – Modesty as an answer.
  • After a phone call with her husband a user got stomach cramps and vomiting. And suddenly she had the answer in her head: “You have to get a divorce.” Since then she feels deep inner peace, contentment – and no resentment at all. When she later consults the I Ching, the answer is hexagram 15 – Modesty.
  • “Where does the poison in my life come from?” asks a user. “Does it come from the outside or the inside? What is the source of my blockages – and what is it that always gets me tripped up in the end?”
  • One user describes his situation as follows: “We don’t feel very comfortable here in the village and in our house and wonder whether we should change. However, our daughter enjoys the location here very much.”
Weiterlesen: 15 – modesty

16 – enthusiasm

Scope of Questions

Regarding hexagram 16 – Enthusiasm I received a couple of questions concerning quite different issues:

  • “How should I interpret my physical symptoms?”
  • “What point am I at right now?”
  • “Without success, I can not keep living. But success always includes some failure. How can I deal with this?”
  • “What do I have to give up to be happy?”
  • A user asks the I Ching about a medical procedure.
Weiterlesen: 16 – enthusiasm

29 – the abysmal

Scope of Questions

So far the following feedbacks regarding regarding hexagram 29 – the Abysmal:

  • Due to circumstances beyond her control a user lives in an international long distance relationship. Her libertarian partner does fine with it, for herself it is a “better-than-nothing”: Basically the situation does not work for her.
  • Another user reflects on a glassy sea over shoals as follows: “For me, a glassy sea brings the following to mind: keeping everything quiet. From the outside, everything looks calm, however, under the glassy surface there are enormous emotional shoals. These shoals are the ancient behavioral patterns that have been passed on from generation to generation for thousands of years. I myself, as part of this chain, am without any influence on it, my consciousness / body consciousness does not react at all to my wishes for liberation or change. The result is that I am actually incapable of action. I can rebel against the unwanted circumstances, but when my strength is used up, I am left with only resignation. In my case it’s a cycle that has been going on for more than 50 years now.”
  • The user’s landlady terminated his lease for personal use – after less than a year and a lot of money for renovation work. With three children and a dog, however, it is not easy to find an affordable replacement apartment. The lawyer advises calm. The question to the I Ching is, “Will there be a lawsuit and how will it turn out for us?”
  • One user asks: “How can I now find joy, peace and hope – as the last scion of a thorny family drama, impoverished, chronically exhausted, in inner emigration? Must the family always have the last word, may we not decide our own relationships and connections?”
    The I Ching answers with 29 – the abysmal.
  • One user asks: “Will I ever be able to open up to a partner or love again?”

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/878878.htm

36 – darkening of the light

Scope of Questions

  • A user describes her situation as follows: “I feel lots of love for the children, the love for my partner, however, is gone. I wish it was different, but this is as things are now. I feel a great sense of duty towards my family.” Regarding this situation the user asks the following question: “How to proceed?” The I Ching responds with hexagram 36 – darkening of the light.
  • A user asks the I Ging: “What does she want me to do?”
  • One user asks: “What is the cause of the agonizing ringing in my ears? What can I do to deal with it better or can it possibly go away completely?” She writes that it is particularly bad when she is alone in her flat. She reacts very strongly to her environment and wonders which buttons are being pressed. Is it the feeling of abandonment? Is it the feeling of abandonment in the presence of another person?
Weiterlesen: 36 – darkening of the light

40 – deliverance

Scope of Questions

Sometimes unexpected twists arise from what initially gave us uneasy feelings. Especially when we examine ambiguous emotional states with a clear head: are these gut feelings actually related to the current situation, to the here-and-now? A cool head may bring liberation. And gut feelings may cause avalanches. In any direction.

I received the following comments regarding hexagram 40 – Deliverance:

Weiterlesen: 40 – deliverance

51 – arousing

Scope of Questions

  • A user has recently been promoted, i.e. internally ascended to a higher position. But he does not get along with the new challenge: he feels not being taken seriously by colleagues and employees. His question to the I Ching: “How should I conduct myself?”
  • A user asks: “How can I resolve my unconscious fears and adjustment tendencies and live a truly independent and unsuited life?”
  • A user has sent work abroad and asks if at all, and if so, what kind of reaction he can expect: “Is now something coming into motion?”
  • A user constantly experiences conflict situations with his partner, with issues being discussed that have not been right for a long time. There are no other conversations than that. He is faced with the question – and he asks it to the I Ching – whether the relationship has ended.

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/788788.htm

52 – keeping still

Scope of Questions

I received a variety of questions regarding hexagram 52 – keeping still:

  • A user consults the I Ching with the following concern: “How can I get to work independently in my profession?” She adds: “This year I attended a professional training. Ever since I play with the idea of working independently, self-employed, to develop a new supporting leg. The professional training’s speaker has really impressed me a lot. And anyway, for some time now I feel like trying out some new methods and professional approaches.” The I Ching replies with hexagram 52 – keeping still.
  • Another user asks, “May I heal with Reiki and alternative methods?” The user works as a butcher, his learned profession, but this becomes more and more a burden, especially because this environment does not share his spiritual interests. For more than 15 years now he has been intensively engaged with Reiki and has great respect for this kind of work. Hence his reserved question whether he may help others with Reiki.
  • Another user receives  hexagram 52 – keeping still as a comment to his situation: “I find myself in a hopeless situation. Nothing is possible!”
  • A user asks: “What is the best way to stop smoking?” The advice of the I Ching: hexagram 52 – keeping still.
  • One user is afraid to quit her job (and thus a stable income) with no prospect of a new one. The job market is difficult. However, she has an upcoming interview with a 25 percent chance because she is one of four applicants in the second round. She is very interested in this new job.
  • One user asks: “What is relevant in the current situation in relation to my partner?”
  • A user writes: “Today I was once again impressed by the depth of this site and am currently digesting the story about the cook/oxen. Very exciting – thank you!”
Weiterlesen: 52 – keeping still

54 – the marrying maiden

Scope of Questions

The Marrying Maiden – what a programmatic title! Although hexagram  54 – The Marrying Maiden most probably speaks about beginnings (beyond partnership!) in general, I have received the corresponding request:

  •  A user asks: “What is the current state of our connection: Will we have a relationship?”
  • One user describes her situation as follows: “I’ve been in a relationship for seven years now. We are opposites, we are both dominant, we are no strangers to arguments… Nevertheless, we always find our way back to each other and the topic of marriage has been on the table for a long time. My question to the I Ching: ‘How should I behave in this partnership, which I often feel is a struggle?'”

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/778788.htm

59 – dispersion

Scope of Questions

  • A user asks the I Ching regarding her corporate constellation which had fitted her well for a long time. Recently, however, she had the feeling that it was time for a change as she wants to concentrate 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?
  • Another user asks: “What should I consider regarding a change of domicile? 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 got canceled. On the other hand, his livelihood had never been really good during the past years, money was always tight. Therefore, he asks the I Ching the following question: “What do you advise me to do professionally?” The answer is 59 – dispersion.
  • A user frees himself from many mental burdens since three days now. Previously, 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 sense that a passionate relationship with another woman is on the horizon for my partner. I can only wait until it becomes clear and think about my exit strategy in the meantime. Love desires are forces of nature. When I consulted the I Ching, hexagram 59 – dispersion changed to hexagram 23 – splitting apart. The answer could not be more fitting.”
  • One user writes: “My girlfriend has now canceled our vacation together twice. 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?”
Weiterlesen: 59 – dispersion