It's been a long time since we have consulted the I Ching. To ring in the New Year, I thought it would be good to go back to the oracle and ask about my work in the coming year. Specifically, I am hoping to make some significant progress on a book, a book that develops some of the ideas mentioned on this blog having to do with ancient Chinese thought in modern American life. So, the question I asked the I Ching was: will I make some good headway on my book in the coming year? And the answer was quite positive: "it furthers one to undertake something," among other good omens. Perhaps it will be a happy new year. More below the jump:
The oracle brought back Hexagram 41, Decrease:
With moving lines in the third and sixth places, transforming into Hexgram 11, Peace:
The more I think about it, the more apt this reading is for me. The Judgment for "Decrease" is actually quite positive; it reads in part:
Decrease combined with sincerity
Brings about supreme good fortune
Without blame.
One may be persevering in this.
It furthers one to undertake something...
The accompanying commentary continues: "Decrease does not under all circumstances mean something bad. Increase and decrease come in their own time. What matters here it to understand the time and not cover up poverty with empty pretense."
Given my current circumstances, this must refer to Aidan. I am diminished without him and I have been feeling, acutely feeling, the decrease and emotional poverty in my life. So, the oracle is telling me to take stock of my current situation as I look forward to my coming work. In a way, then, if it is good to "undertake something," the book I have planned may be exactly the right thing. I conceive of it as extending the kind of reflection I did in Aidan's Way. My plan is to use other strands of ancient Chinese thought - Confucianism in addition to Taoism - to reflect upon a wider range of personal issues. Aidan will figure in it, not quite as centrally as the previous book but he will be there in it.
What I have learned from his passing, from the decrease I have experienced, will add to the increase of the book. That seems to be what the pure yang line in the ninth position is telling me: "Through perseverance and zealous work a man wins success and finds helpers as they are needed. But what he accomplishes is not a limited private advantage; it is a public good and available to everyone."
This makes me think of my wife, who continues to work with disabled children to, as she says, keep using the things that Aidan taught her. Maybe the I Ching is saying that my book might do the same thing: it will be a "public good," available to everyone; something in which Aidan's presence will be carried forward. Increase from decrease.
And the fact that this is all moving in the direction of Hexagram 11, Peace, is a very good prophecy:
Peace. The small departs,
The great approaches.
Good fortune. Success.
I do not take the "small" here as a devaluation of Aidan. The small/great dichotomy simply marks a change from one condition to another. It could just as easily be dark/light, winter/spring, etc. What matters is change. Aidan's departure is a major change for me, and other changes will be in the offing. But some of those - perhaps the main thrust of the imminent changes - will bring good fortune and success. Since I asked explicitly about the book, I take this to mean that I will make some progress on it this year, and that what I write will be infused with Aidan's spirit, and we will make something good.
Happy New Year!
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