A reader wrote in this week and asked that I consult the oracle on what will happen to President Bush in the coming year. Specifically she said: "Many of us are waiting anxiously to see if he will be impeached for breaking the law over illegal wiretaps." I am happy to respond.
However, I should note that I have already asked different versions of this question over the past several months. In July, the I Ching predicted that Karl Rove would probably not lose his job over the rising White House scandals; in September the oracle suggested that Bush could maintain the "Mandate of Heaven" after Hurricane Katrina, if he appointed an effective administrator to oversee the clean-up; in October, I divined that VP Cheney would not be forced to resign over the Scooter Libby scandal; and, again in October, the oracle said that Bush could rebound from his political problems if he changed his political style.
Looking at all of these predictions together, the I Ching appears to recognize the difficulties Bush faces, but has fairly consistently held that if Bush handles the problems correctly, he can hang on.
And that is pretty much the answer I received today when I asked: what are the prospects for American politics, and especially President Bush, in the coming year?
The oracle came back with Hexagram 3, "Difficulty at the Beginning,"
with moving lines in the second and sixth positions, thus tending toward Hexagram 61, "Inner Truth."
"Difficulty at the Beginning" seems quite apt to describe Bush's current political predicament. It describes a time of chaos, "...thunder and lightening fill the air." But within this apparent chaos are elements of order. Thus, the political leader need to be cautious - "Nothing should be undertaken" - and rely upon trusted advisers - "It furthers to appoint helpers." The task at hand for Bush is clear:
So too the superior man has to arrange and organize the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and binds them into skeins.
Of course, this begs a further question as to whether Bush will be able to do the right thing, whether has has the political skill and vision to rebuild his popularity and salvage something from his sinking presidency. It should be mentioned here that impeachment is really not the issue. Whatever we think of the illegal wiretapping, Bush will almost certainly not be impeached over it. Impeachment is a political act, not a legal one. It depends upon who controls the Senate and the House. and, for now, those are Republican, and Republicans will not impeach Bush, no matter what. A claim of national security will be made to justify the breaking of the law, and Republican leaders will block any further action. Now, if Republicans lose both the House and the Senate in November, and Bush is unable to regain popularity, and some other "national security" crisis does not pop up to distract national attention, then, maybe, we could see some sort of impeachment proceeding. But that all seems rather far-fetched to me.
Back to 2006. The I Ching is telling Bush to lay low for now, rely upon trusted ad visors, and wait for opportunities to reassert his leadership. The moving line in the second position suggests as much:
If we bide our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we have hoped for.
The moving line in the sixth position, however, suggests that Bush will not be able to find a way out (not that this means impeachment, just continuing political ignominy):
Six at the top means:
Horse and wagon part.
Bloody tears flow.
The difficulties at the beginning are too great for some persons. They get stuck and never find their way out; they fold their hands and give up the struggle.
So, there is a chance here that Bush could fail. Indeed, if we look back on the "Mandate of Heaven" question from September, it seems that Bush has not acted effectively to manage the aftermath of Katrina; he may thus be in the process of losing the Mandate.
As with most I Ching divinations, the future depends on how an individual responds to current circumstances. Although it may seem that Bush has failed as a president, there remains a chance that he can improve his political standing. We'll just have to see what he does.
Hexagram 61, "Inner Truth," which is where things are tending on this question, suggests an eventual return to order and stability, versus the chaos of the present moment. Notice, in the picture above, how wonderfully symmetrical and balanced the hexagram is. What is interesting is that the oracle does not tell us whether this order includes Bush or not. Since we are focusing on 2006, I am going to presume that it includes him. So maybe this hexagram is aimed at those of us who find his rule intolerable, even though we must tolerate it for, most likely, three more years:
In dealing with persons as intractable and as difficult to influence as a pig or a fish, the whole secret of success depends upon finding the right way of approach. One must first rid oneself of all prejudice and, so to speak, let the psyche of the other person act on one without restraint. Then one will establish contact with him, understand and gain power over him.
That might be a tough order for Massachusetts Democrats, but look at the possible pay-off: "gain power over him."
Happy New Year.
If Mr. Bush or his wife had asked you to consult for him an annual hexagram and received this oracle Hexagram 3 for 2006, one would recommend with some certainty that he should start to look for a new job as soon as possible. This is his second Hexagram 3 within a short period of four months. You see, Hexagram 3 Tun can also spell unemployment.
Therefore if he does not quickly resolve the many outstanding issues depicted by the Zhouyi in your previous divinations, it would be not be surprising to see his downfall before his second term as the US President ends.
It is rather inhumane to keep the poor and stranded suffering four months after the hurricane disasters. Where is the promised, approved and budgeted for New Orleans rebuilding?
There is no wisdom in prolonging an unjustified war that consumes billions of borrowed funds and getting more people (both US soldiers and Iraqis) killed as the days go by. Victory was already declared more than a year ago.
There cannot be further cover ups for the leak to reporters of the CIA agent. Justice must be seen to take it's naturally course. The Yi once again questions his sincerity on these matters through Hexagram 61 Zhong Fu / Inner Truth while the prosecutor discusses criminal cases in order to delay executions.
The saving grace for Mr. Bush, if any, is that you may have asked too earlier – refer to my recent blog entry on Annual Hexagrams – and that the top line in Hexagram 3 also changes.
Posted by: Allan Lian | December 30, 2005 at 06:16 PM