May 30 23
Eight of Cups
39. Obstruction
57. The Gentle (The Penetrating, Wind)
These first few lines are the general aphoristic returns for the week. They are raw and uninterpreted; there to use how you’d like. (The specific readings follow.)
From “C.H.”: My closest friend and I have hit a rough patch. We're both designers and are in the same MFA program. We love each other very much, and our friendship has made me wonder, "what if I actually came to school to learn how to be a better friend?" It turns out we're a bit competitive, and this is holding us back. Is it possible to overcome competitiveness? What are its origins?
Hopefully it’s ok, but we have rearranged/simplified your queries to make the oracle’s answers easier to place:
1. Is it possible to overcome this competitiveness?
Besides what we quoted below, in the complete reading, Hexagram 39 has some direct answer to this: “The hexagram represents obstructions that appear in the course of time but that can and should be overcome.” You must prevail over this obstacle; your success here is related to your sense of self. “The superior person turns their attention to themself… to mold their character.” This is “an occasion for inner enrichment and education.”
As well, the Eight of Cups is clearly saying that an old way of doing something must be left behind.
Hexagram 57 is where the advice really rests. Be like the sun with a “penetrating clarity of judgment” that “thwarts all dark hidden motives…” and “uncovers and breaks up those intrigues which shun the light of day” — this energy should be of an “influence that never lapses…”
And overall, it is advised, that you “must have a clearly defined goal.”
So yes the competitiveness should, and can, be overcome — but it needs pause and reflection, of the self critical kind.
2. What are the origins of this competitiveness?
The metaphoric obstructions/obstacles employed, in Hexagram 39, are a dangerous abyss in front, and a mountain behind — they are described with the “attribute of keeping still.” We take this to mean that the difficulties, between you and your friend, that seemingly/suddenly have arisen, might have always been there, but unseen (or refused to be acknowledged).
We find it additionally interesting that the Eight of Cups also uses a mountainous image — another symbol of hindrance of a geologically fixed kind.
So, perhaps, competitiveness is a deep part of one or both of your personalities.
3. What if a major purpose of my life is to learn to be a better friend?
We are sincere believers that vulnerability is at the heart of true collaboration — we see this sentiment as the symbol of the sun’s rays, which “thwart all dark hidden motives…” There is likely little better purpose in life than pursuing the goal of truth — please note the particular use of “pursuing” and “goal” — we don’t believe one can arrive at truth, but if one doesn’t aim for such a thing, one is likely lost. Learning to be a better friend is a beautiful and fundamental pursuit.
Complete Reading
This week we pulled the Eight of Cups. The intimation here is of change underway — specifically, the tone is not of metamorphosis, but of leaving to go somewhere else. This is a card of moving on.
Our first hexagram this week is #39, Obstruction. When we have a blockage or meet an obstruction, there are three reactions: attempt to break through, do nothing, or retreat. All have their use… Though, it’s hard to imagine an important situation where doing nothing is best. Retreat is usually seen as weak; this is incorrect. Retreat is thoroughly viable — it’s a scenario allowing for reflection and therefore, learning. An attempt to break through is of course possible, but the I Ching has this to say: “one must join forces with friends of like mind and put themself under the leadership of a person equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles.” There were two changes this week, of which the specific notes are: if the reason to face an obstacle involves one’s duty or a higher purpose it is likely necessary to put safety aside and attempt a break-through. Also, if one has resigned themself to a world of monkish-remove, there are times when such a person is called back to help remove an obstacle — avoidance of this duty would be disastrous.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #57, Sun / The Gentle (The Penetrating, Wind). This hexagram deals with “penetrating” sun-like power(s), energy that has the “penetrating clarity of judgment” and “thwarts all dark hidden motives…” that “uncovers and breaks up those intrigues which shun the light of day.” Influence of this sort is obviously of the most important kind a human can deliver or receive. It is good to note, that impact and authority of this character “produce gradual and inconspicuous effects. They should not be delivered by an act of violation but by influence that never lapses. Results of this kind are less striking to the eye than those won by surprise attack, but they are more enduring and more complete. If one would produce such effects, one must have a clearly defined goal, for only when the penetrating influence works always in the same direction can the object be attained.”
- embrace moving on
- when dealing with an obstruction and retreat is in order, use the situation to learn
- when dealing with an obstruction and advancing to a break-through is in order, align yourself with a highly capable person
- if trying to influence a situation, long-term, have a clearly defined goal (and commit to it)
- if trying to influence a situation, long-term, try to have an influence that never lapses
From “C.H.”: My closest friend and I have hit a rough patch. We're both designers and are in the same MFA program. We love each other very much, and our friendship has made me wonder, "what if I actually came to school to learn how to be a better friend?" It turns out we're a bit competitive, and this is holding us back. Is it possible to overcome competitiveness? What are its origins?
Hopefully it’s ok, but we have rearranged/simplified your queries to make the oracle’s answers easier to place:
1. Is it possible to overcome this competitiveness?
Besides what we quoted below, in the complete reading, Hexagram 39 has some direct answer to this: “The hexagram represents obstructions that appear in the course of time but that can and should be overcome.” You must prevail over this obstacle; your success here is related to your sense of self. “The superior person turns their attention to themself… to mold their character.” This is “an occasion for inner enrichment and education.”
As well, the Eight of Cups is clearly saying that an old way of doing something must be left behind.
Hexagram 57 is where the advice really rests. Be like the sun with a “penetrating clarity of judgment” that “thwarts all dark hidden motives…” and “uncovers and breaks up those intrigues which shun the light of day” — this energy should be of an “influence that never lapses…”
And overall, it is advised, that you “must have a clearly defined goal.”
So yes the competitiveness should, and can, be overcome — but it needs pause and reflection, of the self critical kind.
2. What are the origins of this competitiveness?
The metaphoric obstructions/obstacles employed, in Hexagram 39, are a dangerous abyss in front, and a mountain behind — they are described with the “attribute of keeping still.” We take this to mean that the difficulties, between you and your friend, that seemingly/suddenly have arisen, might have always been there, but unseen (or refused to be acknowledged).
We find it additionally interesting that the Eight of Cups also uses a mountainous image — another symbol of hindrance of a geologically fixed kind.
So, perhaps, competitiveness is a deep part of one or both of your personalities.
3. What if a major purpose of my life is to learn to be a better friend?
We are sincere believers that vulnerability is at the heart of true collaboration — we see this sentiment as the symbol of the sun’s rays, which “thwart all dark hidden motives…” There is likely little better purpose in life than pursuing the goal of truth — please note the particular use of “pursuing” and “goal” — we don’t believe one can arrive at truth, but if one doesn’t aim for such a thing, one is likely lost. Learning to be a better friend is a beautiful and fundamental pursuit.
Complete Reading
This week we pulled the Eight of Cups. The intimation here is of change underway — specifically, the tone is not of metamorphosis, but of leaving to go somewhere else. This is a card of moving on.
Our first hexagram this week is #39, Obstruction. When we have a blockage or meet an obstruction, there are three reactions: attempt to break through, do nothing, or retreat. All have their use… Though, it’s hard to imagine an important situation where doing nothing is best. Retreat is usually seen as weak; this is incorrect. Retreat is thoroughly viable — it’s a scenario allowing for reflection and therefore, learning. An attempt to break through is of course possible, but the I Ching has this to say: “one must join forces with friends of like mind and put themself under the leadership of a person equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles.” There were two changes this week, of which the specific notes are: if the reason to face an obstacle involves one’s duty or a higher purpose it is likely necessary to put safety aside and attempt a break-through. Also, if one has resigned themself to a world of monkish-remove, there are times when such a person is called back to help remove an obstacle — avoidance of this duty would be disastrous.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #57, Sun / The Gentle (The Penetrating, Wind). This hexagram deals with “penetrating” sun-like power(s), energy that has the “penetrating clarity of judgment” and “thwarts all dark hidden motives…” that “uncovers and breaks up those intrigues which shun the light of day.” Influence of this sort is obviously of the most important kind a human can deliver or receive. It is good to note, that impact and authority of this character “produce gradual and inconspicuous effects. They should not be delivered by an act of violation but by influence that never lapses. Results of this kind are less striking to the eye than those won by surprise attack, but they are more enduring and more complete. If one would produce such effects, one must have a clearly defined goal, for only when the penetrating influence works always in the same direction can the object be attained.”