It seems a bit shameful to do the I Ching. I did it as a teenager - and I was so desperate for the answer I wanted that it really was a waste of time. Coming to it again a couple of years ago was interesting. I only bought it because I wanted to remind myself of some of the typical phrases (it profits one to see the great man etc.) and include them in TFY. I was using the Wilhelm translation - in all its ambiguity - because it does have those great redolent phrases (you let your magic tortoise go! pigs & fishes). I did it today, in an online version which I have discovered,about the usual subject, and I got this very lovely reading - to me. I am copying it here, because I think it describes a situation everyone has been in at some time, but as soon as I read it, I felt my situation perfectly understood.
Hexagram 36
In the last days of the Shang dynasty as it fell into corruption, Prince Ji was one of the very few virtuous men remaining at court. Remonstrating with the ruler would invite brutal retributions; to flee would be a shameful desertion.
The story goes that once, the king and his entourage were so drunk they literally didn’t know what day it was. Messengers were sent to ask Ji. Rather than reveal himself as the only one who knew, he feigned drunkenness and madness. In this way he was able to survive through the last days of Shang without compromising his principles by cooperating with the regime.
‘Brightness Hidden’ also means ‘Brightness Wounded’. Since others do not share your standards or insight, it would be dangerous to let the light of your character shine out freely. Perhaps you have been injured; perhaps you fear injury. Yet you cannot, or will not, leave the situation in search of a stronger position. Instead, you stay true to the light and keep it burning in these hard times by hiding it away.
It seems a bit arrogant to say it applies to me, but it followed from Possession in Great Measure and fitted perfectly - it's about that awful situation of having something to offer, but being prevented from offering it. This is why I keep my head down and help with arts festivals - otherwise I should go mad!
Only 3 days to go.
Hexagram 36
In the last days of the Shang dynasty as it fell into corruption, Prince Ji was one of the very few virtuous men remaining at court. Remonstrating with the ruler would invite brutal retributions; to flee would be a shameful desertion.
The story goes that once, the king and his entourage were so drunk they literally didn’t know what day it was. Messengers were sent to ask Ji. Rather than reveal himself as the only one who knew, he feigned drunkenness and madness. In this way he was able to survive through the last days of Shang without compromising his principles by cooperating with the regime.
‘Brightness Hidden’ also means ‘Brightness Wounded’. Since others do not share your standards or insight, it would be dangerous to let the light of your character shine out freely. Perhaps you have been injured; perhaps you fear injury. Yet you cannot, or will not, leave the situation in search of a stronger position. Instead, you stay true to the light and keep it burning in these hard times by hiding it away.
It seems a bit arrogant to say it applies to me, but it followed from Possession in Great Measure and fitted perfectly - it's about that awful situation of having something to offer, but being prevented from offering it. This is why I keep my head down and help with arts festivals - otherwise I should go mad!
Only 3 days to go.
Last night I was harangued by several friends and told to Stop Hiding Your Light under a bushel! I am not sure how to do that actually, but it was a bit of synchronicity with that reading - even though it concerned a different topic
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