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 Marrying Maiden
Consider
the first of the verses that has been highlighted
specifically by today’s Reading from the
image of The Marrying Maiden. Here, the oracle
says, “A one-eyed man who is able to see.
The perseverance of a solitary man
furthers.” A more literal translation of
this verse would be “Squinting enabling
observing.” You know how those of us who
have impaired vision, when caught without our
glasses, squint to make out the letters of a
word. Squinting is actually a way of compressing
the eyeball in order to change its degree of
focus. In effect, one narrows the focus, and
achieves a slightly clearer view of things.
Thus, no
matter how unsure you may be about it, your
agenda and priorities need to be brought into
sharper focus. If this is not done, you will
stagnate. That will come as no surprise. It is
plainly self-evident. If you do not
“persevere,” as the verse says, even
when this necessarily means relying on your
self-motivation as a “solitary man,”
then you cannot expect to succeed. Confucius
alluded to the obviousness of this when he said
in his commentary on this verse, “The
perseverance of a solitary man furthers because
the permanent law has not changed.” This
idea is just an expression of the immutability of
the law of cause-and-effect, pure and simple.
In the
other verse that has been highlighted
specifically by today’s Reading from the
image of The Marrying Maiden, the oracle says,
“The woman holds the basket, but there are
no fruits in it. The man stabs the sheep, but no
blood flows. Nothing that would further.”
Here the oracle describes literally an empty
sacrifice. People go through the motions of
propitiating the gods of success, which is just
another way of saying that they are paying the
price for success. But the spiritless way in
which it is done precludes good results. There is
something suggestive of deceit in this image. The
woman carries a basket because she wants it to
appear that she is giving up her first fruits.
The man brings a lamb to the sacrifice, but no
blood flows because it died of the plague long
before the ceremony. Are they truly committed to
their duties at the altar of their longings for
success?
In other
words, this is just another way of saying that it
is time to get back to diligent work on the
business. The I Ching Oracle reminds you that
your commitment must be without reservations.
Bring everything you’ve got to the sacrifice
in a spirit of confidence and joy. THEN, the gods
will look favorably on your endeavor.
In
practical terms, this means breaking through the
obstacles that still remain on your path,
separating you from recognition in the community
and acceptance into the reliable position that
you are aiming for. The image of The Marrying
Maiden changes in this Reading into the image of
Biting Through. In this image, something intrudes
itself between the upper and the lower jaw,
preventing one from eating or speaking. What must
be done? One must bite through the obstacle, so
that upper and lower may meet, inner and outer
may commingle, and above all so that positive and
negative may interact like the interconnected
electrical poles of a dynamo.
More on The Marrying Maiden
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