Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

神數

“Shen Shu”, Spirit Numbers 241-264

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

241 Heaven or hell

一念上天堂
一命入地獄
地獄天堂
便分榮辱
自立念頭要買
不可隨人碌碌

One thought and you rise up to heaven
One thought and you enter hell
Hell and paradise
just a fraction between glory and dishonor
Stand on your own feet
own your intentions
Don’t follow mediocre people

-

  The mind and the heart are susceptible to influences, both from outside and inside. It takes strength to keep wrong people or thoughts at bay. Being social is a big force of nature but doubting others can be a valuable trait. A strong mind can recognize bad influences, and also hold on to what is good.

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242 The fate of true spirits

羊逸群
日對民
逢牛口
便咬人
一個君一個臣
君臣有些驚
須仗真神, 拯救蒼生

When a sheep escapes the flock
people will correct it within a day
Coming close to the bull’s mouth
man gets bitten
One ruler and one subject
then ruler and subject have troubles
One must battle the true spirits
to save the common people

-

  Safety is in numbers. As an individual, you should keep a respectful distance from the powers that be. Thinking or acting differently from the norm scares both the masses and the rulers because of its unpredictability. The flock can be herded, not so the individual. Create a safe place for yourself. See hex.61 story.
  逸群 Escape the flock, excel.
  驚 surprise, startle; alarm, stampede, violent; fierce.
  真 〈Dao.〉 original character of human beings; newcomer among the immortals.

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243 Knowing the seeds

若是有緣人
一指便回首
執迷不悟者
屢引也不走

If a person can see the seeds
One finger suffices to turn around
Whereas one who persists in error
Is repeatedly seduced
and does not walk from it

-

  The ability to feel the subtle edges of good and bad, of ethical and unnatural, even in the middle of a busy world, is the reason some can turn around timely. When one feels the edge is near, it is easy to do so. When one doesn’t feel it, desire or habit will be too strong to change one’s conduct.
  緣reason, fate, predestination.

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244 One blue expanse

月兒東升
清光可浥
萬里無雲
海天一碧

The moon child rises in the east
Clear light subtly appears
No clouds in the vast space
Sea and sky one blue expanse

-

  When everything is calm and smooth and clear, then take extra care not to let anything bad in. It is tempting to forget carefulness when life seems easy. So be severe, or exude authority, or play devil’s advocate when the situation asks for it. But also be nice, relaxed and social when necessary.
  萬里無雲 cloudless.
  碧 Blue, green, emerald.

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245 The male dao

男兒若得封侯印
不負人間走一遭
功成身退
煙霞嘯傲
脫卻紫羅袍
方是男兒道

It seems it is masculine to pursue high office
Not to go entirely against social ways
To retire after winning merit
To be leasurely and carefree in the clouds and mists in twilight
Taking off the purple gauze robe
It is the true direction of the male dao

-

  Do your own thing, follow your bliss. Don’t forget though that what you are in your core is just as important as what you make of yourself and your life. Give enough room to your being a man or being a woman, being born assertive, or happy to be a follower or a recluse. Honor your and other’s nature.
  印 seal, stamp; tally, conform, original meaning: ‘press down, restrain’.
  羅 silk gauze, also means a net for catching birds.
  封侯pursue high office - see create feudal lords

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246 A bewitching woman

心月狐狸
迷惑世人
世人不察
延久傾身

A sentimental moon and a bewitching woman
Enchant and delude the common people
Common people don’t scrutinize it
They invite it for long times

-

  The world is full of bewitching things. Alcohol, drugs and gambling are known as dangerous, but there are many other things which can enslave or destroy. Food, games, sex, so many things which can be great can also be used in wrong or evil ways. Be aware of everything you allow in your life.
  狐狸 Huli, bewitching woman, literally fox and raccoon.

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247 Shaken up but not destroyed

驀地狂風起
大樹盡掀揚
枝葉未凋零
培植終無恙

Suddenly a gale-force wind rises
Big trees are raised up to their limits
Branches and leaves did not scatter about
Cultivation is safe and sound in the end

-

  It is a blessing when a disaster almost happens but not quite. One learns its danger and often how to prepare for it, knowing how devastating it can be without having to experience it. The beginning of a fire, the signs of a disease, an unguarded remark, an unlocked door. They are timely warnings.

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248 A fortunate empty day

虛日旺相
法要推尋
四周旋繞
對敵沖營

The empty day has a prosperous appearance
A law which asks for examination
Orbit all around

-

  If you have an open mind, then you notice every opportunity to achieve something. You might not have a plan, but you grasp the moment, the open door, the unexpected gift. It is a talent which makes life much easier and rewarding. You accomplish what nobody expected, least of all you yourself.
  相 physiognomy, face, appearance, also like in fortune telling.
  虛日empty day, day on which nothing (has to) happen.

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249 Adapt to changes

榮枯早定莫嗟傷
辛苦他邦
安享家鄉
為他人作嫁衣裳
今日君嘗
他年改調別人嘗

Ups and downs fixed early cause no moans and distress
Working hard in the country
Or living in ease and comfort in your hometown
On account of others you earn a living and clothing
Today the ruler’s taste
In another year things change and one adjusts to another person’s taste

-

  Fixing what you’re not happy about is more useful than moaning it. But many things are just the way they are and you don’t have much say in them. Better adapt without bothering too much. Who knows how they will be next year, or even tomorrow. Don’t summon trouble which only causes trouble.

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250 Daughter big

女兒大喜臨門
嫁良人添子孫
同拜受感皇恩

Daughter big
Happiness arrives
Marries a fine man
Adds children and grandchildren
All receive honor
Feeling the favor of the ancestors

-

  Spinning stories is part of the human mind, especially the happy-ever-after kind. Life can be hard or unsatisfactory, hope is always right below the surface. Stories are a welcome distraction and a means to stay hopeful. Don’t drown in them though, and don’t use others as tools to fulfill them.
  皇 Emperor; magnificent.

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251 Chills and fever

木生火
口不噤
瘋癲作癥
寒熱相侵

Wood feeds fire
The mouth does not keep silent
Madness causes obstruction of the bowels
Chills and fever invade each other

-

  If excitement goes on and on, stoking your fire and making you talk endlessly, you harm your mind and body both. They need peace in order to restore. Find balance, don’t run around all the time but alternate with rest. Empty your head, relax your muscles. Life is not only moving but also being.

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252 Wake up

休休休
過了三年又六週
不猛省
禍到頭。

Quiet and serene
Exceeding 3 years and 6 weeks
If you don’t suddenly wake up
There is misfortune in the end

-

  To be calm is good, except when there is too much of it. All things need to be in balance. When you are too calm or calm for too long, things will go wrong. Too much and too little should both always be avoided. Everything needs to be in balance in order to stay right. It makes the entire universe revolve.
  休休 Good at heart or: stop-stop!

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253 Prepare well

欄檻起火
孽畜遭殃
預防得力
滅火成康

The walls of the pens are on fire
The raging livestock meets with disaster
You guarded against it beforehand and you get help
Extinguishing the fire is accomplished easily

-

  Nobody will be exempt from all problems, but those who prepare against them have an easier life. Find the vulnerabilities of your life and think of ways to make them stronger, both for now and for the future. It will pay off as a sound investment. Preparing is easier than mending what went wrong.

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254 Firm like three mountains

已遂心頭願
始知志氣伸
三山須把握
頻頻定太平

Already heart and mind fulfilled their desire
Starting to realize the extent of the ambitions
One must be firm like grasping three mountains
Again and again fixing peace and tranquility

-

  Nature equips all creatures with desires, so they will improve relentlessly. It is up to you how far you go. In a natural and balanced way - or limitless, up to the point of harming yourself or others. Even the ability to stay within limits is part of her plan. A balanced species will survive and improve.

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255 Lucky star

福星照映
桂子香聞
滿天星斗
光耀逼人

The lucky star shines
I smell the fragrance of cassia buds
The sky is full of stars
Their brilliance coercing man

-

  Build air castles to your heart’s content, they can be a great source of inspiration. But keep your feet on solid ground as well. You need both to create anything worthwhile. A business, a marriage, children, a work of art, you name it and it needs both the earth and the sky and probably some good luck as well.
  桂子 Fragrant Cassia buds; famous and talented sons.

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256 The source of water

東南地將來自故墟
燕薊地蒼生無存濟
若要大奮雄心
水源不知何處？

The Southeast shall come to ruins
In the region of Yan and Ji there is nothing stored to live from
Should you really raise grand ambitions
When you don’t know where the source of water is?

-

  If you want to make big changes or mend big problems, then start with the basic requirements. Don’t involve anyone before you know there are actually things which can be done. Nobody should be led onto a path of false hope, especially when the time is difficult and hope is easily raised.
  燕薊YanJi became Beijing

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257 A free heart

死有日
生有時
何事慢躊躇
飄然一往
心上無疑

Death has its day
Birth has its hour
Why be cynical and hesitate
Float in the air and just go
Your heart free of doubts

-

  It is quite arrogant to think you can criticize nature and universe and everything. It did exist long before you. So, listen to it, to its eternal laws and cycles and feel free and supported by letting its timing lead you. Free is natural, unfree is always a fabrication, by a situation or by your own mind.

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258 Jackals and wolves

往來行僻處
猝然著一驚
豺狼若當道
斬滅方稱心

Traveling around you walk into an out of the way place
Suddenly a surprise
Cruel and evil people seem to block your way
Beheading and exterminating satisfies them

-

  There are moments in life when the only thing you can do and have to do, is to singlemindedly defend yourself. To concentrate every thought and every feeling into a way to survive. Why do we love movies where this happens? Maybe as an exercise to train our reaction in a world which doesn’t teach this?
  往來 coming and going: traveling around.
  豺狼 jackals and wolves: cruel and evil people.
'  當道 'pawn's dao', hold the reins of govenment; block one's way.

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259 Qimen Dunjia divination

八門分八位
九星布九方
青赤黃白黑
五色卷錦裝
交鋒對壘
兩兩相當

Eight gates divide the eight positions
Nine stars the nine regions
Green, red, yellow, white and black
Five colors of brocade costumes
Crossing swords ready for battle
Both sides similar in strength

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  When there is no certain outcome, then divination can help. The Qimen Dunjia is one of those. Generals used it to decide if a battle was worth fighting, and if the enemy could be defeated. Accept divination as a wonderful way to access a knowledge your rational mind will not allow you to find.
  Qimen Dunjia is one of the Three Styles of Divination

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260 A life without purpose

終身不習上
在世卻枉然
輪迴不能
永落深坑塹

All one’s life not practicing to become better
A life without purpose
A wheel cannot turn around
It always goes down into an abyss or chasm

-

  The easy road is always down. That’s why it is easy. The wheels are not able to do anything else, the driver and the horse have to give them a direction. So sit in the driver’s seat, and use your energy to pull your life in the direction you want it to go. It doesn’t go anywhere by itself. Or it does - down.

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261 Yin and yang in harmony

兩個子女
同到齊行
陰陽和合
謀作歡欣

Two sets of boys and girls
All are here moving together
Yin and yang in harmony
Making plans in happiness and joy

-

  Before you can start anything, even the very first beginning of an idea, you must bring the situation in balance. Your mind, your surroundings, your options, your tools. Every disharmony will reflect itself both in the work and in the result. A creation will always show the way it has been created.

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262 Enlightenment

中有玄機賦
雞鳴方顯露
猛然悟禪關
打破君門路

In your center you are endowed with the mysteries of fate
When the cock crows the region becomes visible
Suddenly coming to understand the principles of Zen
You break with the ways of lords

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  The understanding of Chan (Zen) is an inner openness, which just has to become visible for you. Enlightenment is not a state of being, it is a threshold between darkness and light. Don’t try to hold on to it but find it again, over and over. It will make you free to follow your own heart.
  機賦 mysteries of fate or unniverse.
  悟禪 come to understand the principles of 禪, Chán (Zen).
   關 meditation or shutting.

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263 Free fish

數尾金魚吞餌
絲竿釣了回頭
家食翻嫌太費
五湖四海遨遊

Several tail golden fish swallowed the bait
You take your fishing line and pole and turn around
You don’t like the great cost of not eating at home
When traveling the five lakes and four oceans

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  Wherever you are, survive the way this place asks for. Adapt to the possibilities, not taking any habit or opinion for granted. What is right for other people may not be right for you. Finding your own way of acting and thinking will not only improve your life but also enrichen your soul.
  五湖四海 5 lakes and 4 oceans: all corners of the land, everywhere in the world.
  遨遊 Roaming and traveling: i.e. by water and land.

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264 The will of Heaven

卯日兒出林
午時正福臨
卯生於寅
方見天心

On Mao day a child comes out of the forest
And right at Wu hour a blessing spirit
Mao issues forth from Yin
Everywhere one sees the will of Heaven

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  Nothing happens on its own, everything is connected. Finding these hardly visible threads of affinity is the basis of astrology and many other ways of connecting with fate, spirits, synchronicity, and everything else intangible. They are roadmaps and directions to follow the threads of Indra’s Web.
  卯 Mao: 4th branch, Rabbit.
  午 Wu: 7th branch, Ox, between 11 and 1 o'clock.
  寅 Yin: 3d branch, Tiger.

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