Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

神數

“Shen Shu”, Spirit Numbers 169-192

Numbers
1-24
25-48
49-72
73-96
97-120
121-144
145-168
169-192
193-216
217-240
241-264
265-288
289-312
313-336
337-360
361-384

169 Living now

遍書前前事
艱險往來難
若得清風便
扁舟過遠山

Everywhere books about past and future events
Hardships and dangers disasters coming and leaving
It seems a timely cool breeze comes up
A small boat crossing over to the distant mountains

-

  There is enough in the world to worry about. So much can go wrong, like it did so often and will keep doing in the future. Keep your mind within your own situation, where it belongs and can be happy. Make that situation itself open and free and wide. And then live it with a free and wide open mind.

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170 Don’t regret what is gone

莫歎殘花
花開枯樹
屋頭春意
喜笑嘻嘻

Don’t sigh about flowers gone
Blossoms open on bare trees
Home of the awakening spring
Happiness and many smiles

-

  Almost everything moves in cycles. Things go up, then down, and then again up. The year moves through the seasons over and over again. So, don’t look back, don’t regret what is gone. Live right in this moment which carries new possibilities. If you trust they are in there, they will emerge.
  花開: blossoms open; tearful.

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171 Confidence

一事總成空
一事還成喜
若遇口邊人
心下堪憑委

One enterprise turns into emptiness
One enterprise succeeds happily
When it looks like you meet a reliable person
In your gut you feel confidence and trust

-

  Nobody can predict with certainty, which starting enterprise will succeed and which will not. The balance can move either way. So if you can add something, anything, to make it move in your favor, welcome it. A trustworthy helper will be worth his weight in gold.
  口邊: ‘mouth limit’, with common sense, reliable.

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172 A touch of love

欲得月中兔
須憑桃李拂
高山來接引
雙喜照雙眉

A desire to reach the rabbit in the moon
Must be based on a touch of peach and plum blossoms
In the high mountains a guide comes
Double happiness shines on your brows

-

  For matters beyond the daily stuff, you need special guidance. In love, art or spiritual pursuits practical advice is often useless. You need a guide, out there or in yourself, who knows about these things, who can lead the way. Passion is a wonderful force but it is not always able to find the road to success.
  Peaches and plums: the beauty of a woman.

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173 Good and even better

事遂勿憂煎
春風喜自然
更垂三尺釣
得意獲鱗鮮

Matters succeed
do not be consumed by worry
A spring breeze and genuine happiness
Moreover you lower three feet of fishing line
Proud of yourself you capture a fresh fish

-

  Everything, living creatures, acts, thoughts, the weather, even the earth herself, has vibrations. They change all the time, and they can resonate, or maybe hinder, or even obliterate each other. So worry only when necessary, and at all other times send out positive vibes. They attract luck and success.
  憂煎: ‘worry fried’: in agonies of worry
  春風: spring breeze; with happy smiles; in a pleasant atmosphere.

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174 Socializing is a skill

圓又缺
缺又圓
低低密密要周旋
時來始見緣

Full and again dark
Dark and again full
Very lowly and very meticulously you need to socialize
The time will come when you begin to see progress

-

  Entering into the world of people is scary because they have opinions, habits and rules. You gather your courage, and then again you lose it. You start to talk and then again you fall silent. Don’t despair, keep trying, learn the rules. It is an important skill to have, it makes life much easier.
  Full and dark like the moon.

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175 Heed the danger

乘病馬
上危坡
防失跌
見蹉跎

Riding a sick horse
Along a dangerous slope
Guard against tumbling
Watch out for slipping and falling

-

  Use the right means for the right task or moment. One should only take a risk in a situation more or less under control. If that is not possible, then take the utmost caution. Unless it is absolutely unavoidable, a risk in an uncontrolled situation is being reckless and irresponsible, asking for disaster.
  蹉跎 Slip and fall, miss a chance.

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176 Singing in the rapids

兩事日和同
輕舟遇便風
道迷人得意
歌唱急流中

Today two events are in harmony together
A small boat and a favorable wind
A charming trip and pride in yourself
Singing in the rapids

-

  When everything is in harmony and within your abilities, you catch the wind in your sails without effort. What you do will be like playing, and challenges will add color.
  “On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open, and the world is full of beauty.” (Rumi)

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177 Hidden treasure

白玉蒙塵
黃金埋土
久久光輝
也須人舉

White jade covered with dirt
Gold buried in the earth
Long-lasting brilliance
Still man has to raise them up

-

  Many things carry a high value, but they don’t mean a thing unless something is done with them. Love has to be expressed, a diamond has to be cut, a story has to be told. What you do is what really matters, much more than what you are and certainly not what you only claim to be.

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178 Connections

上接不穩
下接不和
相纏相擾
平地風波

Connections with higher ones are not stable
Connections with lower ones not harmonious
Bothering each other and disturbing each other
Wind and waves from level land

-

  Upper and lower, or big and small, yang and yin, they have to be in balance or else everything will mess up. Boss and employee, reason and intuition, commerce and art, the world consists of contrasts, and life has the beautiful task of connecting it all together, of turning it into a living organism.

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179 Smiling in the rear

背後笑嘻嘻
中行道最宜
所求終有望
不必皺雙眉

Smiling in the rear
It is best to walk the middle road
Seeking a place ends promising
No need to wrinkle the eyebrows

-

  If you don’t strive for the first place, you might end up in the best place. The universe is built on balance. Too much flies out of orbit, too little crashes down. The middle road might not be sensational, but it brings the life which fits with you, which brings rest and happiness and space to live.

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180 Empty words

憔悴無人問
林間聽杜鵑
一聲山月笛
千里淚涓涓

Wan and thin and no-one asks
In the woods one hears the cuckoo
The sound of a bamboo flute
under the mountain moon
An endless flow of tears trickling down

-

  If you want to be part of an interesting living world, you need to learn its language, so you recognize fake rumors, deceiving people, empty declarations of love. But before you can, you have to learn your own language. Stop with self-pity or believing your own fairy tales. Straighten up.

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181 Lofty Míngshān

菱荷香裏受深恩
桂魄圓時印綬新
從此威名山岳重
光輝直上位經綸

The fragrance of water chestnut and lotus in
your chamber: receiving intimate favors
The time of the spirit of the laurel in your garden: new seal and ribbon
Henceforth a prestige like the lofty mountain Míngshān
Rising to the glory of statesmanship in a top position

-

  Great accomplishments are never a onesided affair. Rising high is a matter of all aspects of your life being powerful. A clever mind and also rich and deep feelings, strength of character and also love of beauty. High structures need a broad base and a full heart to stand solid and not to crumble.

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182 Halfway

花落正逢春
行人在半程
事成還不就
牽絆兩三旬

Blossoms fading right when spring arrives
A traveler halfway his journey
Matters not yielding results right away
They get impeded for two or three weeks

-

  Don’t take for granted that getting things on their way will bring them to completion. A large part of all beginnings never reach an end. Halfway they get stuck and perish or linger unfinished endlessly. Hold on to your initial commitment, don’t diminish your efforts until you reach your goal.
  旬ten day period, the ancient 'week'.

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183 Stop

欲行還止
徘徊不已
動搖莫強
得止且止

A desire to move and yet standing still
Pacing back and forth endlessly
Wavering and without vigor
If you can stop then stop

-

  Sometimes both moving and not moving don’t yield anything useful. Then stop. Stand still, stop thinking if possible. Or go for a walk and enjoy the scenery. Or maybe think of something simple and nice. When you feel really calm, you can start again with what you want to accomplish.

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184 Meeting a dragon

心下事安然
周旋尚未全
逢龍還有吉
人月永團圓

In your heart matters are peaceful
Social relations are not yet complete
Meeting a dragon there is still auspiciousness
People and the moon always become full again

-

  First of all you need inner peace. But you are living in the world, and you also need a dragon: your courage and authority, so you can give your life a place of its own out there. Or someone like a dragon might help you. Finding power is not a one-time thing, it has to be done over and over again.
  龍Dragon; dragon-year or -person, beneficial bringer of rain, imperial, a feature in festivals: Dragon Boat Festival (summer solstice) and 'Dragon dance' in many others.

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185 No smile yet

夢裡說關山
波深下釣難
利名終有望
目下未開顏

An inner dream speaks of mountains as barriers
And deep waves wich make fishing difficult
You hope for profits and fame in the end
Right now there is no smile yet.

-

  Don’t conjure up problems where they don’t exist. A lot can go wrong, but why focus just on that? A lot can go right, and it is better to concentrate on a good outcome and to work on it. And if you still cannot let go of your worries, then realize how much better you feel when you are optimistic instead of low.

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186 A path through the clouds

三箭開雲路
營求指日成
許多閑口語
翻作笑歌聲

Three arrows open a path through the clouds
In a matter of days you come upon success
All the gossip and slander
Turn into laughter and singing

-

  Those who create their own future can be assured of ridicule and doubt. Those who rely on help from someone already established meet with agreement. Finally you reach ‘already established’ yourself, and then they will cheer. Don’t mind them, you reached what you wanted.
  雲路 cloud path: official rank.

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187 Out of the courtyard

休眷戀
誤前程
終鬧亂
出門庭

Stop sentimental attachment
It harms the future
In the end it causes confusion
Come out of the courtyard

-

  Make yourself free. Don’t lean on others, don’t depend on drugs or habits or praise or on someone’s money. Most of all, don’t be tied sentimentally to anything or anyone or even your own comfort zone. As long as you are, you don’t have the freedom to truly live your own life and to make your own choices

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188 Wind and moon

萬里波濤靜
一天風月閑
利名無阻隔
行路出重關

Calm billows over a vast distance
An entire day of leisure in a beautiful scenery
Nothing stands in the way of profits and fame
A journey away from heavy concerns

-

  When things calm down, even if it is only for a short time, then use it to relax and to restore your energy. You need to work hard and to think hard, but you also need to nourish yourself, your body and mind, and don’t forget your heart. It gives you the strength to make a success of your work.
  風月 Wind and moon: beautiful scenery, romance.
  重關A series of fortified passes; heavy concerns.

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189 Tigers and dragons

渴望梅
饑畫餅
漫勞心
加捉影
遇虎龍
力可省

Longing for plums
Starving for the pie in the sky
The brain overflowing with activity
Add to that grasping shadows
You encounter tigers and dragons
Forces which might make you aware

-

  Working hard, having big goals, it will all lead to nothing if you are not realistic. You want the impossible and your plans have no limits and no substance. Just wait until you encounter strong people. Emulate them or else get eaten. Hopefully you will meet the worthy ones before the bad guys.
   畫餅 pie in the sky: illusions.
  畫餅充飢 lit. to allay one's hunger using a picture of a cake: to feed on illusions (idiom).
  勞心 Work of the brain: worry.
  虎龍 Tigers and dragons: courage and (benign) rulership.

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190 Medicine for the heart

事迷心不迷
事寬心不寬
一場歡喜會
不久出重關

Matters are confused but your heart is not confused
Matters are relaxed but your heart is not relaxed
In a court is a happy gathering
Before long you come out of your heavy concerns

-

  Talking about what is bothering you is important. It is not just about being heard, it is most of all about hearing yourself. It is easier to focus your mind when you actually hear your thoughts. Another big help is easy simple distraction. Not thinking for a while and having a good time clears up cobwebs.
   重關 Heavy concerns or a series of fortified passes.

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191 A message

夜半渡無船
驚濤恐拍天
月斜雲淡處
音信有人傳

Around midnight crossing but there is no boat
Terrifying intimidating waves lash at heaven
A slanted moon and thin clouds
Someone passes on a message

-

  Sometimes a rumor, an overheard conversation, a morsel of news or a simple information can be a lifesaver. Listen to your intuition, to people or to signs. If you miss all those warnings or chances, you just stumble around on the narrow base of your own perceptions and limited knowledge.

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192 No wish to meet

事若羈留
人不出頭
往來閉塞
要見無有

Matters seem on hold
People do not lift their head
Contacts are closed off
They don’t want to meet

-

  When there are no prospects and no freedom for too long, people draw back. They stop hoping or trying to change anything, they just trod on. Those in charge have to change, they have to give back freedom and hope and let people decide about their life. Using your own will is food for your mind.
  出頭 Lift their head: free themselves.

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