Influence,  Line 1:

"The influence shows itself in the big toe."

     Once this major Influence enters your life, you will be ready to head in a new direction. There is anticipation, a readiness to move. You are literally just itching to get started.

     At this very early stage - Line 1 - the Yi urges you not to act on impulse.  Moving forward requires a coordinated effort of your whole "body."  Attempting to run when only one part of you is ready will cause you to stumble.

      Success depends on taking things as they come, in their own time.  First things first.

     We'll look at the Yi's advice on the next step - Line 2 - tomorrow.

No. 31,   Influence  /  Wooing: 
 
"Influence. Success. 
Perseverance furthers. 
To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune." 
 
      A major Influence will be entering your life.

     R.L. Wing calls this hexagram Attraction, pointing out that "The universe as we know it is held together and governed by the various laws of Attraction,"  right down to its smallest unit, the atom, held together by the attraction of its positive and negative charges.

    The danger here is that this Influence will be so different, and so unlike you, that you will shy away from it.  Don't.  The Image says,  "Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him by his readiness to receive them."

      Joining with this Influence in a serious, long-term commitment will bring success.

     We received Changing Lines 1, 2 and 3; the Yi has some specific advice for us on the beginning stages of this process. We'll look at Line 1 tomorrow.

No. 32, Duration:

"Duration. Success. No blame.
Perseverance furthers.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go."

      "Receiving this hexagram is an encouragement to endure, to move ahead by abiding in what is true and correct."  [Walker]  This is the future of Pushing Upward.

      Duration does not mean standing still, or digging in your heels. It means maintaining your principles in the face of changing events and conditions. 

       Like the young tree Pushing Upward, "You need to have flexibility and strength to accommodate change without sustaining structural damage."  [Marshall]

     You know what your are meant to do, and where you are meant to go.  Do not let changing circumstances distract you. 

Pushing Upward,  Line 4:

“The king offers him Mount Ch'i.

Good fortune. No blame."

      Your path and your goals are favored by "higher powers."

     Mount Ch'i is a real place, in the homeland of King Wen, who ruled at the beginning of the Chou dynasty, about 1027 B.C. 

     "King Wen introduced his illustrious helpers to the god of his native mountain, and they received their places in the halls of the ancestors by the side of the ruler."  [Wilhelm]

     Receiving this line "indicates a stage in which pushing upward achieves its goal.   One acquires fame in the sight of gods and men . . . and thereby attains a significance that endures beyond time."  [Wilhelm]

Pushing Upward,  Line 6: 

"Pushing upward in darkness. 
It furthers one to be unremittingly persevering." 
 
     In your journey upward, you will not always be able to see where you are, or where you are going.  You may be tempted to strike out in one direction on "blind impulse." 
 
     "In such a case it is important to be constantly mindful that one must be conscientious and consistent and must remain so."  [Wilhelm] 
 
      "Unremittingly persevering."  "Constantly mindful."  "Conscientious."  "Consistent."  The Yi is kind of piling it on here, don't you think? 
 
     Bottom line:  Stick to your plan, be sure it is consistent with your values, and keep going.   Great power, which only needs to be tamed, is waiting, as we will see tomorrow.

Pushing Upward,  Line 1:

"Pushing upward that meets with confidence
Brings great good fortune."

     Are you Pushing Upward, but still unsure of your path? Does something inside keep saying, "This had better work?"  Or, "I'll try this, but  . . ."

      With Line 1, the Yi advises you to think of yourself now as the root of the tree that is Pushing Upward  -  the "power to rise comes from this low and obscure station."  [Wilhelm]  In other words:  The branches and leaves aren't there yet.  But they will be.

     Your effort - combined with a positive attitude - is the key to your "great good fortune."  Have faith in yourself.

     One more element is necessary for your growth, and we'll see what that is, tomorrow, with Line 6.

No. 46,  Pushing Upward:

"Pushing upward has supreme success.
One must see the great man.
Fear not.
Departure toward the south
Brings good fortune.”

          Were you looking for confirmation that you are on the right path?  Here it is.

     Pushing Upward was the future message, yesterday.  Today it is received as the main message, with two changing lines, 1 and 6, which gives us  . . . the future message of The Taming Power of the Great / Potential Energy / Restraint - the last main message received.

     This is the Yi is saying, as directly as it can, that this fortunate period of growth is destined to continue.

     
      "Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around them, wood in the earth grows upward without haste and without rest."  [Wilhelm]  Your growth should be the same - steady and strong.

     The changing lines point to two things that will be necessary to this process.  Tomorrow:  confidence.

No. 46,  Pushing Upward:

"Pushing upward has supreme success.
One must see the great man.
Fear not.
Departure toward the south
Brings good fortune.”

     A very auspicious future message, in keeping with the last two main messages:  Progress, which will continue indefinitely, and Potential Energy.  Success is assured . . . if one exerts the appropriate effort.

     At some point in the future, you will no longer need to be afraid to take your plan to someone in authority. That obstacle - which you were cautioned about in Line 1 - will be removed.

     Setting the activity in motion  -  the departure toward the south  -  almost guarantees good fortune. This is an organic movement upward, like a tree growing.  But success won't just be dropped in your lap.  You will have to put some energy behind it, and push.  

      Anthony and Moog say, "Receiving this hexagram is counsel to make a decision between two paths. . . . the path of his unique destiny that he alone can trod by following his inner truth, or the one laid out  . . . that has been trodden by others."

     What two paths do you need to choose between?

The Taming Power of the Great / Potential Energy / Restraint,  Line 6:

"One attains the way of heaven. Success."

      The obstacle that halted your progress will ultimately be removed.  A great store of energy will be released as the way is cleared.

      Your goals are divinely favored - you are aligned with the Universe. What more could one desire than to "attain the way of heaven?"

      This remarkably fortuitous time is destined to continue, as we will see in the future message, tomorrow.

The Taming Power of the Great  /  Potential Energy  /  Restraint,  Line 1:

"Danger is at hand.  It furthers one to desist."

      You are at the very beginning of a time of Progress and Potential Energy.  But there is a serious hazard in your path.  Use Restraint until the Universe removes this obstacle.

     You know what you want to accomplish, and you are eager to get moving.  But there is a peril in the present moment that you should not brush aside.  An example would be a project that you need someone in authority to sign off on.  They are ignoring you, or refusing to give their approval.

      The Yi is telling you:  This is not the time to "act now, and apologize later." 

     There is real risk in forging ahead.  Stop and wait for the way to clear.  It will - as we will see tomorrow in Line 6.

No. 38, Opposition: 
 
"Opposition. In small matters, good fortune." 
 
     The Image says, "Above fire; below, the lake: The Image of Opposition. Thus amid all fellowship the superior man retains his individuality." 
 
     Opposition is the future message* to The Joyous, which said that "the superior man joins with his friends for discussion and practice."  The Yi now cautions that this "joining" with others shouldn't go too far.  You must retain that which is distinctly "you."
 
     Do not let disagreements put a stop to progress. Focus on areas of consensus.Take small steps forward until the situation changes. 
 
     Perhaps the Opposition is in your own mind. Brian Browne Walker says, "This hexagram comes as a signal that you are preventing your own progress by resisting life." 
 
     What part of life are you "resisting?"

.......................................... 

*  The Daily Yi was missing in action for a couple of days. My apologies. I have been traveling with my trusty laptop under the assumption that these days you can find a cafe with wireless access almost anywhere.  I found out that this is not true of West Texas and New Mexico.     Susan Lee   

The Joyous, Line 6: 

"Seductive joyousness." 
 
 
     At this time of Joyousness, don't indulge in "worldly pleasures."
 
     The danger here is "giving up the direction" of one's own life in the "pursuit of diverting pleasures." [Wilhelm]  
 
     Remember, the purpose of the time of Joyousness is "stimulating intercourse with congenial friends with whom one holds discussion and practices application of the truths of life.

     What "diverting pleasures" are trying to "seduce" you?

The Joyous,  Line 5: 

"Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous." 
 
    When you are in a calm, Joyous state of mind, you may be inclined to be polite to inferior influences. 
 
    Don't be.    
 
     Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  But if you know that what someone is saying is bogus, don't indulge them by listening.  
 
     You don't need to denounce their ideas publicly, nor do you need to confront them.  But separate yourself from them as completely as possible, as quickly as possible. 
 
     Another threat to your Joyousness is waiting, as we will see in Line 6.

No. 58 – The Joyous/ Lake

“The joyous. Success.

Perseverance is favorable.”

          
     The Image is of "Lakes resting one on the other. . .Thus the superior man joins with his friends for discussion and practice."

     Wilhelm  says, “Knowledge should be a refreshing and vitalizing force.  It becomes so only through stimulating intercourse with congenial friends with whom one holds discussion and practices application of the truths of life."

       For example, now is a good time to change your career path, if you can move to a job where you will learn new things and develop new skills. Working with people who share your values and goals will be your success.

     With this main message, we received two changing lines, Lines 5 and 6, which offer some specific advice. We'll look at Line 5 tomorrow.

Return / Turning Point,  Line 2:

"Quiet return.  Good fortune." 

       Line 2 indicates you have been headed in the wrong direction.  The Turning Point of the main message will come when you realize and accept that.

     You don't have to shout this from the mountaintops.  Admit to yourself your mistake, then quietly make the correction you need to get back on the path to good fortune. 

     "Return to the light in yourself."  [Walker]

     The future of this Return looks promising, as we will see tomorrow.

No. 24,  Return / Turning Point:

"Return.  Success. 
Going out and coming in without error. 
Friends come without blame. 
To and fro goes the way. 
On the seventh day comes return. 
It furthers one to have somewhere to go." 

      You have reached a Turning Point toward brighter days. Receiving this hexagram is likened to the first day after winter solstice:  light is starting to Return. 

      This is a time when "the old is discarded and the new is introduced."    Formed from the trigram Earth over the trigram Thunder, this hexagram signifies a deep change of the life energy (Thunder) stirring from deep within the Earth.

      As natural as this Turning Point is, however, it will require a conscious act of self-correction. Line 2 will tell us about that tomorrow. 

Oppression / Exhaustion,  Line 3:

"A man permits himself to be oppressed by stone,
And leans on thorns and thistles.
He enters his house and does not see his wife.
Misfortune."

     No wonder you're Exhausted - you are pushing up against a stone wall.  You see your only path as being full of difficulty.

     There is shelter and support available to you, but you refuse to see it.  

     You are, in Confucius's words,  "permitting [yourself] to be oppressed by something that ought not to oppress [you]." 

     Quit focusing on the "wall."  It's not going to move.  You can go over it, or you can go around it.  But keep moving.

     This will lead to a Breakthrough, as we will see in the future reading tomorrow.

No. 47,  Oppression  /  Exhaustion:

"Oppression. Success. Perseverance.
The great man brings about good fortune.
No blame.
When one has something to say.
It is not believed."

      "It is an unavoidable time of adversity - a time of oppression and exhaustion. None of us escapes such moments; they are simply part of living."  [Brian Browne Walker]
 
      What is this "adversity" - the cause of your oppression and exhaustion?   "A feeling of despair or depression is a sign that you are holding a false belief.  Root out and remove this idea or attitude.  This will allow the creative to eliminate the oppression."  [Walker]

     What false belief are you holding?  Is it something you believe you should or must do?  Or something you believe you can't do?

     The two changing lines we received, Lines 1 and 3, are big red arrows pointing at the cause and cure of  this Exhaustion.  Tomorrow:  Line 1.