I Ching, Yijing or Zhou Yi
"Oracle of the moon": © 2000 LiSe
Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon
Hexagram 04
Méng, not knowing
Gua Poem (the invocation):
Ignorance, expansion
Not me seeking the young and ignorant
The young and ignorant seeking me.
The first oracle-consulting is informing Two or three times: confusing.
Confusing and therefore not informing
Fruitful to determine.
The great image says: At the foot of the mountain a spring wells up: Ignorance.
A noble one nurtures virtue by reliable conduct.
Méng: the ideogram and the story (NEW) What does it mean for your question?
This hexagram is complementary to hex.49. In 4 things are not clear yet, in 49 one has clear ideas how things should be. Don't neglect the other side when you concentrate on one of the two.
Top 9: Beating the ignorant. Fruitless to behave hostile. Fruitful to prevent violence.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Trying to educate using violence will raise to violence. One passes on what one is, a balanced teacher makes stable minds, arbitrariness rears to unseemliness. The
same applies to you: do not force your muscles and brain
to do something and don't beat yourself up about things.
(hex.4's 7 Leader: Use the best means you have and avoid anything less) Mirror
6 at 5: Youthful ignorance. Auspicious.
Complete openness makes learning and development incredibly fast and large. Every thought, knowledge, even admiration, close this gate. Then one will need teachers and effort.
(hex.4's 59 Dissolve: No need to worry about what is out of your grasp) Mirror
6 at 4: Restricting ignorance. distress.
One teaches to make the right choices by showing all choices. Hiding the dark makes choosing for light impossible, and limiting choices hinders the ability to oversee and evaluate.
(hex.4's : 64 Not Yet: When the right circumstances present themselves, then make use of them) Mirror
6 at 3: No benefit of taking a woman who, when she sees a rich man, loses control of herself. Nothing bears fruit.
Only connect with what is true and has values. Everything else causes loss of one's own character and dignity. Do not choose what depends on you without the power to be itself or to respect boundaries. And you: never let your need exceed you empathy.
(hex.4's 18 Decay) Mirror
9 at 2: To care for the ignorant, auspicious. To enjoy the woman, auspicious. Children sustain the family.
Follow the purpose of your life and your people, and life in general. To care for and about others is an investment, even if it does not pay yet. Every step you make is crucial for creating the future.
(hex.4's 23 Stripping: Use your understanding to strip your life of anything wrong) Mirror
Initial 6: Enlighten ignorance, fruitful to make criminals work as punishment, taking off shackles and manacles because they hinder movement.
One
can learn a lot of one's faults, but one must also learn better alternatives. The quickest way to learn is by experience, which is a severe master, and also with freedom, examples, and an open mind.
(hex.4's 41 Decrease: Get your own stuff in order but don't be a slave to it. Mirror
No lines changing: you can try to do things, but they may fail or even backfire. If there's nothing that should (or can) be done, then this might be a good time to relax and refuel. The Poem and the Image are guides that show you the best way to do that.
Trigrams offer possibilities that the hexagram-texts don't show.