Psychic Readings from The
Psychic Internet often feature images drawn from the
I Ching Oracle. To offer supplementary
information about these images for our clients,
and for the public, we have provided this archive
of brief articles.
For general information on
the I Ching Oracle, click here.
The
abstract images of the I Ching Oracle (usually
called "hexagrams") symbolize all of
the related and interacting aspects of reality.
In the following excerpts from actual Psychic Readings, the images of the I Ching
are discussed.
Click here for links to all
of the images.
The Preponderance of the
Small
Before I
interpret these images for you, let me express my
sense of your career situation in general, which
is that you are headed toward a very high degree
of success. As you will see below, this judgment
is confirmed by several of the images that I have
drawn for you today. And it is important for me
to emphasize this point at the beginning of this
Reading, because I know that there may also be a
degree of disappointment in store for you with
respect to your specific goal of attaining to the
prestigious position that you referred to in your
Reading Request.
Please do
not allow this message to discourage you in any
way. Often, since people are necessarily
constrained by a narrow view of their prospects
in the future, there is a tendency to focus
excessively on one opportunity or option to the
exclusion of others that are not as yet plainly
visible. We have to trust in Providence to guide
us to our own best good in life. We should avoid
trying always to be in control of things as they
develop. Misfortunes sometimes have “silver
linings.”
But there
is NO sense in which this Reading brings tidings
of any sort of misfortune. On the contrary, it is
meant to inform you of the strong momentum that
is propelling you toward greater and greater
success in your professional life. This happy
outcome is promised in the Judgment verse that is
associated with the first of the images that I
have drawn for you from my I Ching Oracle, the
ancient Chinese classic that is also known as the
Book of Changes. In this verse, the oracle says,
“Preponderance of the Small. Success.
Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done;
great things should not be done. The flying bird
brings the message: it is not well to strive
upward, it is well to remain below. Great good
fortune.”
In
essence, the key judgment in this instance is
summed up in the words “Great good
fortune.” But at the same time, the oracle
gives you insight into the way in which you can
realize and ultimately manifest this great good
fortune. And this “way” is premised on
an objective evaluation of your position in your
current job, an evaluation that surely will not
surprise you in any way. As one great
commentator, Richard Wilhelm, has said with
regard to this image, it describes a certain
fundamental weakness that is inherent in your
position AT THIS TIME (please notice this
qualification: AT THIS TIME). Thus Wilhelm says
that in this image, “It is the weak element
that perforce must mediate with the outside
world. If a man occupies a position of authority
for which he is by nature really inadequate,
extraordinary prudence is necessary.”
This is
the basic premise of the judgment, but then
Wilhelm goes on to provide more insight. He says,
“Exceptional modesty and conscientiousness
are sure to be rewarded with success; however, if
a man is not to throw himself away, it is
important that they should not become empty form
and subservience but be combined always with a
correct dignity in personal behavior. We must
understand the demands of the time in order to
find the necessary offset for its deficiencies
and damages. In any event we must not count on
great success, since the requisite strength is
lacking. In this lies the importance of the
message that one should not strive after lofty
things but hold to lowly things. A soaring bird
should not try to surpass itself and fly into the
sun; it should descend to the earth, where its
nest is.”
You can
see how these ideas comport perfectly with the
warning that I gave you at the beginning of this
Reading with regard to your disappointment about
the specific promotion that you are aiming for.
And, of course, I am NOT telling you to stop
aiming for that promotion. After all, my psychic
judgment in this case may be incorrect. I am no
more infallible in my judgments than is a lawyer
or doctor or statesman. I do not claim
infallibility.
That
said, I will quote for you from the two verses
that have been highlighted specifically by
today’s Reading from the image of
Preponderance of the Small. In the first of
these, the oracle says, “Dense clouds, no
rain from our western territory. The prince
shoots and hits him who is in the cave.”
There may
be some value in quoting once again from
Wilhelm’s commentary on this verse. He says,
“…in exceptional times there may be a
born ruler who is qualified to set the world in
order, but who cannot achieve anything or confer
blessing on the people because he stands alone
and has no helpers. In such times a man must seek
out helpers with whose aid he can carry out the
task. But these helpers must be modestly sought
out in the retirement to which they have
withdrawn. It is not their fame nor their great
names but their genuine achievements that are
important. Through such modesty the right man is
found, and the exceptional task is carried out in
spite of all difficulties.”
I should
stipulate at this point that YOU are the
“prince” referred to in this verse.
This form of address is but a relic of the fact
that the oracle, being an ancient and traditional
Chinese artifact, always addresses itself
exclusively to male questioners. Had these verses
been written by people with our own modern
consciousness, it would be phrased differently.
We need to be able to separate out the essential
message from the merely superficial happenstance
of ancient customs. And the essential idea of
this verse is, as I said, that you need to
moderate your expectations of success with regard
to the specific promotion that you are presently
aiming for. Instead, you may expect to
“hit” a goal that is mostly hidden
(“in the cave”), or at least hidden to
you at this time.
This idea
is further elucidated in the second of the two
verses that has been highlighted specifically by
today’s Reading from the image of
Preponderance of the Small. In this second verse,
the oracle says, “He passes him by, not
meeting him. The flying bird leaves him.
Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.”
And Wilhelm’s commentary will once again
help you to understand the general nature of the
message that is conveyed to you by this verse. He
says, “If one overshoots the goal, one
cannot hit it. If a bird will not come to its
nest but flies higher and higher, it eventually
falls into the hunter's net. He who in times of
extraordinary salience of small things does not
know how to call a halt, but restlessly seeks to
press on and on, draws upon himself misfortune at
the hands of gods and men, because he deviates
from the order of nature.”
The
operative word in the above commentary is
“IF.”
In short,
the advice that comes to you in this Reading
suggests the immense importance of modesty in
your current position. But here, too, I must put
forward a certain qualification. I may say first
of all that I sense in you a person who probably
underestimates her actual worth, both in its
present expression, and in its potential for the
future. And this is not entirely appropriate.
This idea
is highlighted for you as an aspect of the
meaning of the second of the two images that I
have drawn for you today from my I Ching Oracle.
This is the image of Retreat, which in its own
way underlines the importance of modesty, but a
modesty of a very particular kind. Thus, in the
central verse associated with the image of
Retreat, the oracle says, “Thus the superior
person keeps the inferior person at a distance,
not angrily but with reserve.” YOU are the
superior person referred to in this verse. This
is a word to the wise: do not underestimate
yourself, and do not overestimate others. But,
all the same, let your behavior be a model of
perfect modesty.
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