Book of Changes

The army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.

An inferior influence has taken control. It may be someone else, or it may be your own inferior qualities. Either way, you need to distance yourself from this influence.

This is the corona virus message! Corpses ARE being stored in wagons. The inferior influence is the attitude that we don’t need to, or simply won’t, do what is necessary to keep the death toll as low as possible.

Wear a mask! Wash your hands. Stay 10 feet away from others! Social distance yourself !

Tomorrow: The army retreats. No blame.

Post script: In 20+ years of doing readings, I never, ever expected to give this line its literal meaning: Corpses being stored in wagons. This is not ancient China. This is, indeed, misfortune on a global scale.

The Army must set forth in proper order.

First, before you engage in a “battle,” be sure your cause is fair and just. Then put the appropriate organization and discipline in place.

Yesterday, our main message told us “Discipline and control, employed toward a common goal, bring ‘good fortune without blame.’ ”

With today’s Line 1, you are advised to first be sure your cause is fair and just. No problem there — your website is about the I Ching. But the “appropriate organization?”

You need to hire — or find — someone who has the skills you lack.

Tomorrow: . . . the army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.

The army needs perseverance.

You will find great strength in a collective force. Discipline and control, employed toward a common goal, bring “good fortune without blame.”

Now is a time when you need to join with others to accomplish something important. In a global sense, the Yi is probably talking about the corona virus. We in the U.S. need to exert discipline and control and wear our masks. Toughen up and use our collective force of people who aren’t idiots to make the idiots who won’t wear masks stop endangering us all.

On a personal level, the Yi is telling you: You can’t reach your goal without some help. “Good fortune without blame” means you are going to have to take some action that someone is not going to like. Too bad for them. You are doing the right thing, and you will benefit from it.

Tomorrow: Line 1. The army must set off in proper order . . .

(This is a new reading. We discuss this main message today, and the three changing lines we received on the next three days, and finish up with the future reading on the fourth day.)

Susan Lee

Be like the sun at midday.

You will have abundance, but like the sun, it will fade. Make the most of it while you can.

Abundance is the future reading we received from our main message of Darkening of the Light and changing line 4. What a great reading to start the New Year!

The Yi reminds us that Abundance comes in many forms: money, food, love . . . whatever you need the most. For the world in general, right now, it may well be clean air to breathe.

When your Abundance arrives, share it with others. Let your light shine to its fullest while you can, like summer. Do as much as you can with it, keeping in mind that fall and winter will inevitable follow.

Today we’re discussing Line 4 of Darkening of the Light, the main message we received yesterday. Line 4 is the only changing line we received.

One gets to the very heart of the Darkening. You can see clearly now what the Darkening is. If you do not see even the possibility of improvement, now is the time to leave this path entirely.

Right now, the Darkening, for you, may be the corona virus pandemic. Perhaps your job requires constant contact with the public. At first, your boss was very strict in enforcing the rules the Dept. of Health prescribed. But now, half your co-workers let their masks slide frequently, and won’t follow the rules unless someone goes Tom Cruise on them.

You may save your own life by quitting.

Tomorrow: Be like the sun at midday.

This is line 6, which we received as the only changing line to hexagram 14, Great Possessing.

With this larger share or the good things in life comes a larger responsibility. Make sure you keep contributing, and your personal good fortune will continue.

What are you contributing to the greater good?

Changing our changing line to its opposite gives us our future reading. Tomorrow: “Energy in harmony with the movement of heaven.”

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.