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 Abysmal
We have
referred to the first image that we have drawn
for you from our I Ching Oracle as Water. In the
Wilhelm edition it is called The Abysmal. Since
its message is by no means always dark and
negative, we prefer to call it Water, this being
its primary symbolic representation. It is not
surprising that the element of water was
associated with the idea of danger in the
agrarian culture that gave us the I Ching. The
ancient sages pointed to the gorges carved out of
the earth by water, dangerous places from the
point of view of falling. The image is in general
all about pitfalls. Thus, in today’s Reading
we are concerned with the various pitfalls
involved in the act of Gathering Together. While
that image of Gathering Together may be very
positive, showing how it is that things come
together that are meant to be together for some
grand and good purpose, yet it places in the
foreground of its pictorial landscape the kind of
weapons that “meet the unforeseen.”
In the
first verse that is highlighted specifically for
you by today’s Reading from the image of
Water, the oracle says, “The abyss is
dangerous. One should strive to attain small
things only.” This hearkens back to what we
said above about making AT MOST a small offering.
Wilhelm’s
gloss on this verse seems to us worth quoting, if
you clearly understand it to describe the overall
situation you are now in with respect to finding
an interim management team. “When we are in
danger we ought not to attempt to get out of it
immediately, regardless of circumstances; at
first we must content ourselves with not being
overcome by it. We must calmly weigh the
conditions of the time and be satisfied with
small gains, because for the time being a great
success cannot be attained. A spring flows only
sparingly at first, and tarries for some time
before it makes its way into the open.”
The Tao
of Organization translates this verse as follows:
“There is danger in pitfalls. Seek, and you
may attain a little.” It translates another
verse highlighted for you from this image in the
following way, “A casket of wine, two
baskets of rice. Use plain vessels. Take in the
promise through the window. In the end there is
no blame.” Passing through the window is to
be understood as a condition of perfect openness
and honesty, nothing hidden, nothing held back.
This is the foundation of trust, the kind of
trust that you require for the position you are
filling.
More on
The Abysmal
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