Oracle for the Week of 4.15.24
There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation, and support from others. — J. Donald Walters
I
THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH
(Providing Nourishment)
_______________________________
_____________ _______________
_____________ _______________
_____________ _______________
____________ X _______________ _______________________________
This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth, above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth through which we take in food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment itself.
THE JUDGMENT
THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with.
In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on who he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creature. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them. Mencius says about this:
“If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe which part of his being he regards as especially important. The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant parts, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivate th inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.
THE IMAGE
At the foot of the mountain, thunder:
The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.
Thus the superior man is carful of his words,
And temperate in eating and drinking.
God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing: when in the spring the life forces stir again, all things come into being anew. He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still: thus in the early spring when the seeds fall to earth, all things are made ready. This is an image of providing nourishment through movement and tranquility. The superior man takes it as a pattern for the nourishment of his character. Words are a movement going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from without inward. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquility. For tranquility keep the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding proper measure. Thus character is cultivated.
THE LINES
Six in the second place means:
Turning to the summit for nourishment,
Deviating from the path
To seek nourishment from the hill
Continuing to do this brings misfortune.
Normally a person provides his own means of nourishment or is supported in a proper way by those whose duty and privilege it is to provide for him. If, owing to weakness of spirit, a man cannot support himself, a feeling of uneasiness comes over him; this is because in shirking the proper way of obtaining a living, he accepts the support as a favor from those in higher place. This is unworthy, for this is deviating from his true nature. Kept up indefinitely, this course leads to misfortune.
(See below for the specific line’s significance and how to interpret it.)
SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIFIC LINES DETERMINES
ITS STATUS AND FUNCTION IN A HEXAGRAM
LINE 1
Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.
Line 1 represents an ordinary intellectual or a commoner.
In present times, it is perceived as the people.
At the position difficult to understand: as it just arrives at a hexagram, what will happen later is unknown at this point.
In this case the line is also the hexagram’s constituting ruler, ▢ —. In this case the line is also the hexagram’s constituting ruler. Unable to help the ruler because he lacks ability and goodness of character the line is resolutely to be cast out.
LINE 2
Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.
Line 2 represents the courtier of the duke, or a domestic official, or a low ranking official
In present times, it is interpreted as the elite of civilians.
At the position for starting action: it possesses the principle of moderation. It is ready for the assigned mission, but what it can do is still limited.
LINE 3
Lines three and four are of the human domain.
Line three represents the feudal lord, i.e., the duke.
In present times, it is interpreted as a civilian leader.
The line is at a position full of ill omens, but it teems with ambition and is very active.
LINE 4
Lines three and four are of the human domain.
Line four represents the courtier of the king, or the official of the central government, or a high-ranking official.
In present times, it can be interpreted as the official.
At a position full of fear it stays next to the king and acts as a courtier
Its mode of conduct is at a position of resting, as it just arrives at the upper trigram after a hard march.
LINE 5
Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.
Line five represents the king
In present times, it can be interpreted as the president
It is at the core of a hexagram and possesses the principle of moderation; or at the peak of a hexagram where the line reaches its full development.
LINE 6
Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.
At the top position: the shrine, line six is the symbol of a clan or dynasty. Or is some cases, position six refers to a very honored position, but without title, power, responsibility or obligation.
In present times, it may be interpreted as the country, or a retired official.
Its characteristic is easy to understand. It is at the end of a hexagram, what has happened at each phase is known to it.
Mode of conduct: At the top and end, the mission of the hexagram is going to be completed, and its norm is about to change.
In this case the line is also the hexagram’s constituting ruler, . Unable to help the ruler because he lacks ability and goodness of character the line is resolutely to be cast out.