Hexagram 29 > 42
At the time of writing, Strategic Divination is a few years old.
It was a piece of writing full of all of the good ideas I had about working with the I Ching, as well as some blindspots that are sometimes inevitable in a life where we're constantly learning.
I've since done thousands of more readings, and have reworked a number of my beliefs about I Ching readings specifically, and divination generally.
What follows are things that would have been included in the original had I been wise enough to know them in the past.
Hopefully they help you no matter where you are on your oracular journey.
Remember That You're Cause
If you get vague or contradictory readings, just take it to mean you still have the power to impact the situation.
Instead of waiting for life to *happen* to you to fulfill the reading sitting before your eyes, take the actions that are necessary to bring to life the reality you *actually* want.
Just as closed mouths don't get fed, idle hands don't clutch gold.
You're probably wrong about at least one aspect of your reading, so give yourself a chance to accomplish something instead of surrendering to a fate that may actually be optional.
Ask Better Questions
Guidelines For Better Questions:
- One question in a sentence (not two or more)
- This usually means there's no commas and no "ands" in your question
- Why? Because you'll get one answer to two or more questions, which will leave you chasing your tail instead of actually getting clarity
Some of The Questions I Most Often Use:
- What's the best I can do with ____
- (Often the most empowering question because it's less likely to get your hopes up, while also helping you focus on what's doable in your situation)
- Please show me an image of the results of ____
- What will happen with ____
- What will happen if I do ____
- What will happen if I don't ____
- What is the clearest answer to the question ____
- (When you ask this one, accept the answer you get without saying 'are you sure this is *really* as clear as you can get?')
- What do I need to know/What is the only thing I need to know about ____
Rules, And Questions To Ask Yourself For The Most Accurate Interpretations You Can Get
Acknowledge Your Blindspots
- If the meaning of a reading seems wrong to you, there's probably something you're not seeing, or something that's hard to accept, or something you don't want to be true.
- If there's a hint of confusion or contradiction, that alone is a sign that you should slow down on thinking something is certain, and take it as a cue to look at it more soberly.
Predict To Avoid Deceiving Yourself
- After interpreting, make a prediction. Write it down in a journal and then revisit it once a date or event has passed. Learn if you were wrong. By seeing our fallibility we can better interpret, and better manage our mental health
- To put it another way, write out what you think the reading means given the context of the question. It's important to know what we think a reading means, so we can look at it against what the standard meanings, or translations, say.
Understand All of The Parts
- What is the primary hexagram’s meaning, the relating/context hexagram's meaning, and the line(s) meaning.
- See my Hexagram titles here.
- You can sometimes get the overview of a reading by simply assessing the primary and relating hexagrams: When interpreting a reading with changing lines, like say: Hexagram 13.1.2.3 > 6, read it as follows:
- Conflict (6) when it comes to Windows of Opportunity/Right Fits (13).
- You interpret by making that sentence for every changing line reading, with the relating hexagram/context hexagram (of 6 in this case), with the primary hexagram that has the changing lines (13 in this case) coming last.
- Just to make sure you understand it: if your reading was 36.1.2 > 46, you’d read that as Moving Forward (46) when it comes to Censorship (36). Got it? Good.
What Would You Tell Your Best Friend About What This Reading Means
- Does the story you're telling yourself about the reading conflict with what it means for most others?
The Daydream Rule
- Remember that most of the things you daydream about won't happen, and apply that wisdom to your reading.
Remembering The Rarities
- Think about the most eventful weeks in your life, and think about how rare those moments actually are.
Again, Remember That You're Cause, Not Effect (For Best Results)
- If we're not putting in the effort to make the change happen, we need to accept that most changes reflected in our readings will be subtle.
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Don't Forget That Life Is To Be Lived
As someone that did a reading about what to expect for every waking hour of my day, for about two years, I can talk to you confidently about the benefits and dangers of divinatory dependency.
Having a reading for every hour did help at times in cushioning the blow of the day.
In some ways it was fun to look at a reading and see how it was fulfilled by the events that transpired.
When things went ‘wrong’, it also offered me meaning. A different way of looking at disaster.
It also gave me ample material with which I used to develop my I Ching line and hexagram meanings, independent of any external teachers or scholars.
Part of me thinks about taking up the practice again, because it was fun.
But, a question I ask myself, and that I'll ask you is: how much of your life do you want to live staring at hourly readings on your screen. How much risk do you want to tolerate so you can build up your resiliency muscles, without depending on the cushion of 'this will happen, *then*'?
Ultimately, if you don’t cling to any divinatory aids, and use them without being used by your emotions, there might be no harm. Even in asking about every single hour you spend awake.
I don't regret the role that the I Ching has played in my life, and hopefully you never do too.
But despite all of your planning, and despite all of your questioning, you'll never be able to extinguish all risk.
You will never see it all coming.
That risk can turn into future scars, but it can also become the source of your next laugh.
Maintain your heedfulness, but don't be afraid to put down the coins and cards for a bit.
By doing so, life may threaten you with a good time.