I Ching Readings

☯ From the I Ching, #49. Ko / Revolution (Molting) - 革

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Above: Tui - The Joyous, Lake
Below: Li - The Clinging, Fire

The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense an animal's pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting. From this word is carried over to apply to the "moltings" in political life, the great revolutions connected with changes of governments.
The two trigrams making up the hexagram are the same two that appear in K'uei, OPPOSITION (38),
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that is, the two younger daughters, Li and Tui. Bt while, there, the elder of the two daughters is above, and what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies, here the younger daughter is above. The influences are in actual conflict, and the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other. Hence the idea of revolution.

☯ THE JUDGMENT
REVOLUTION. On your own day
You are believed.
Supreme success,
Furthering through perseverance.
Remorse disappears.
Political revolutions are extremely grave matters. They should be undertaken only under stress of direst necessity, when there is no other way out. Not everyone is called to this task, but only one who has the confidence of the people, and even them only when the time is ripe. They must then proceed in the right way, so that they gladden the people and, by enlightening them, prevents excesses. Furthermore, they must be quite free of selfish aims and must really relieve the need of the people. Only then do they have nothing to regret.
Times change, and with them their demands. Thus the seasons change in the course of the year. In the world cycle also there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and these call for social transformations.

☯ THE IMAGE
Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION.
Thus the superior person
Sets the calendar in order
And makes the seasons clear.
Fire below and the lake above combat and destroy each other. So, too, in the course of the year a combat takes place between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, eventuating in the revolution of the seasons, and a person is able to adjust themselves in advance to the demands of the different times.
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Your consultation might include the hexagram Ko/Revolution (Molting), and a whole lot more. Send a message to-day to schedule a reading, and see what the Book of Changes has in store for you!
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Pic: Lake over Fire -- Yosemite National Park, CA; July 2013.

☯ From the I Ching, #47. K'un / Oppression (Exhaustion)

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Above: Tui - The Joyous, Lake
Below: K'an - The Abysmal, Water

The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up. Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light lines; below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones. The upper trigram belongs to the principle of darkness, the lower to the principle of light. Thus, everywhere superior people are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior people.

☯ THE JUDGMENT
OPPRESSION. Success. Perseverance.
The great person brings about good fortune.
No blame.
When one has something to say,
It is not believed.
Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right person. When a strong person meets with adversity, they remain cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. They who let their spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly have no success. But if adversity only bends a person, it creates in them a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior person is capable of this. Only the great person brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied them, because their words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.

☯ THE IMAGE
There is not water in the lake:
The image of EXHAUSTION.
Thus the superior person stakes their life
On following their will.
When the water has flowed out below, the lake must dry up and become exhausted. That is fate. This symbolizes an adverse fate in human life. In such times there is nothing a person can do but acquiesce in their fate and remain true to themselves. This concerns the deepest stratum of his being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.
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Your consultation might include the hexagram K'un / Oppression (Exhaustion), and a whole lot more. Send a message to-day to schedule a reading, and see what the Book of Changes has in store for you!
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Pic: The sun, exhausted -- the light being held down by the dark. Somewhere in Idaho; August 2013.