64 – Sixty-Four Wei Chi / The End In Sight
Fire ascends above the Water:
The Superior Person examines the nature of things and keeps each in its proper place.
Too anxious the young fox gets his tail wet, just as he completes his crossing.
To attain success, be like the man and not like the fox.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Resist the rush to completion.
Anticipation of fulfillment may cause you to be careless before you have fully absorbed the lessons of the journey.
The endpoint of this Quest will only prove to be the threshold for another.
You are short steps from Mastery on this plane, yet you stride toward Ignorance of the challenges lying beyond.
Savor this accomplishment.
Fully Become.
Take full possession of your world before embarking to discover the next one.
That voyage begins soon enough, and you will reminisce about this one.
These are the Good Old Days.
Nine in the fourth place means:
Deep in the Devil’s Domain, there is no room for despair.
Persevere for three years, and victory will be yours.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Remorse disappears.
Shock, thus to discipline the Devil’s Country.
For three years, great realms are awarded.
‘The Oath of the Horatii’, 1786 – Jacques Louis David (1748-1825)
Now it is the time of struggle. The transition must be completed. We must make ourselves strong in resolution; this brings good fortune. All misgivings that might arise in such grave times of struggle must be silenced. It is a question of a fierce battle to break and to discipline the Devil’s Country, the forces of decadence. But the struggle also has its reward. Now is the time to lay the foundations of power and mastery for the future.
23 – Twenty-Three Po / Splitting Apart
The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.
Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is a situation easily mistaken for Stagnation (Hexagram 12) or Revolution (Hexagram 49).
It just depends on which side you’re on.
During a time of Stagnation, human worms invade to feed on the decay.
During a time of Revolution, oppression is being overthrown.
But in this situation, oppressors are violently seizing power.
Pay special heed when you receive this hexagram, because the oracle is often warning you of a situation of which you are totally unaware.
You are about to be blindsided.