Over a year ago, in February, Jim’s Book was ready to go and we had our first book reading at Chapter 1 Bookstore in Hamilton, Montana. It turns out the second one has not happened. The group had read the news, COVID was coming.
After reading a few passages, we did a group cast. Everyone wanted to know what was going to happen. We cast the coins and got:
____ ____
____ ____ Hexagram 24
____ ____ Return/Turning Point
____ ____
____ ____
__________
THE JUDGMENT
RETURN. Success
Going out and coming in without error.
Friends come without blame.
To and fro goes away. --- A lockdown in Montana was coming
On the seventh day comes return. --- This is the yin-yang cycle of the 6 line
It furthers to have somewhere to go. Hexagrams suggesting a return after a
cycle completes “return to normal” I suppose.
THE IMAGE
Thunder within the earth --- Bottom trigram Thunder
The image of THE TURNING POINT. inside Earth, top trigram
Thus the kings of antiquity closed the passes --- And so the new kings closed the passes
At the time of solstice.
Merchants and strangers did not go about, --- Got that right
And the ruler
Did not travel through the provinces
SIX AT THE TOP --- Been awhile. I think we got a changing line
Missing the return. Misfortune. if I remember right
Misfortune from within and without.
If the armies are set motion in this way,
One will in the end suffer a great defeat,
Disastrous for the ruler of the country.
For ten years. --- ten years = a long time
It will not be possible to attack again.
The Confucian commentary on this line is:
The misfortune in missing the return lies in opposing the way of the superior man.
I will leave it to the reader to contemplate this, especially the SIX AT THE TOP, as we are on the cusp of entering the next stage of a COVID-19 response.
Wilhelm Translation.
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