Nov 18 25
The Moon (reversed)
47. Oppression / Exhaustion
28. Preponderance of the Great
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.)
Question from “F.H.”: I have carved a fairly comfortable niche for myself, work-wise (I am a needed expert). As well, the position is pretty guaranteed, at least into the foreseeable future, though, ultimately, it’s kind of a dead end (not a lot of room for real growth). Some new opportunities have popped up. Both involve a pay cut, but have more of a future, and are way less isolated than my current position (much more socializing and a bit more creativity). Seems relevant to mention that my current work involves significant goriness, boredom (long hours) and often, a burden of real sadness/heaviness (I work in operating rooms). Please know that I know, nothing is guaranteed even with these new possibilities — just kind of a question better to root or keep moving...
Any advice would be appreciated.
Oracle reply: You have to acknowledge the unseen motivators of self — that which pushes instinct to the surface. Logic and reason are not going to carry you all the way. You are blocking a hunch. Logic cannot exist without experience; experience is not a science. Proper decision making requires the wild and the domesticated.
Get out there and engage Transition (writ large). Keep a positive attitude and don’t say much (as regards this problem).
Transitions are temporary times (outside of the rhythms necessary for standard functioning). Address the stress with a cheery eye toward an (ultimate) return to flow.
Complete Reading:
This week we pulled The Moon (reversed). The moon is the sun’s intelligence reflected. When upright, the indication is that wisdom is going to arrive from one’s unconscious; when reversed, as it is here, the intimation is of a disconnect with intuition — too much confidence in logic. Humans benefit from both reason and instinct — neither should be thought of as complete. One might be repressing their hunch.
Our first hexagram this week is #47, Oppression/Exhaustion. The metaphorical image here is of a lake that has dried up; a lake whose water has become exhausted. The metaphor demonstrates adversity — how to behave when one’s resources (mental, financial, or what have you) have dissipated. “Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right person. When a strong person meets with adversity, they remain cheerful despite all danger, this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. Those who let their spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly have no success. But if adversity only bends a person, it creates in them a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself... Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.”
There was one change of which the specific note is: if one allows themself to be burdened by things that should not be a burden (like things that are relatively frivolous), serious danger awaits.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #28, Preponderance of the Great. A great burden is reaching its breaking point, but the stress is understandable. That is, one can see the cause of the problem. Swift action is recommended. However, even though the issue has serious risks, it does not mean total catastrophe; it is a temporary time, an out of the ordinary time. Therefore address the problem with confidence, knowing that the time will pass — address the problem and transition to the new situation (which is really the situation that existed before the problem).
- Humans benefit from both reason and instinct — neither should be thought of as complete; doing so leads to confusion.
- “In times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.”
- “Those who let their spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly have no success.”
- “Remain cheerful despite all danger; this cheerfulness is the source of later successes.”
- If one allows themself to be burdened by things that should not be a burden (like things that are relatively frivolous) serious danger awaits.
- Address The Problem and transition to the new situation (which is really the situation that existed before the problem, but refreshed) — floods happen but they always recede.
Question from “F.H.”: I have carved a fairly comfortable niche for myself, work-wise (I am a needed expert). As well, the position is pretty guaranteed, at least into the foreseeable future, though, ultimately, it’s kind of a dead end (not a lot of room for real growth). Some new opportunities have popped up. Both involve a pay cut, but have more of a future, and are way less isolated than my current position (much more socializing and a bit more creativity). Seems relevant to mention that my current work involves significant goriness, boredom (long hours) and often, a burden of real sadness/heaviness (I work in operating rooms). Please know that I know, nothing is guaranteed even with these new possibilities — just kind of a question better to root or keep moving...
Any advice would be appreciated.
Oracle reply: You have to acknowledge the unseen motivators of self — that which pushes instinct to the surface. Logic and reason are not going to carry you all the way. You are blocking a hunch. Logic cannot exist without experience; experience is not a science. Proper decision making requires the wild and the domesticated.
Get out there and engage Transition (writ large). Keep a positive attitude and don’t say much (as regards this problem).
Transitions are temporary times (outside of the rhythms necessary for standard functioning). Address the stress with a cheery eye toward an (ultimate) return to flow.
Complete Reading:
This week we pulled The Moon (reversed). The moon is the sun’s intelligence reflected. When upright, the indication is that wisdom is going to arrive from one’s unconscious; when reversed, as it is here, the intimation is of a disconnect with intuition — too much confidence in logic. Humans benefit from both reason and instinct — neither should be thought of as complete. One might be repressing their hunch.
Our first hexagram this week is #47, Oppression/Exhaustion. The metaphorical image here is of a lake that has dried up; a lake whose water has become exhausted. The metaphor demonstrates adversity — how to behave when one’s resources (mental, financial, or what have you) have dissipated. “Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right person. When a strong person meets with adversity, they remain cheerful despite all danger, this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. Those who let their spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly have no success. But if adversity only bends a person, it creates in them a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself... Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.”
There was one change of which the specific note is: if one allows themself to be burdened by things that should not be a burden (like things that are relatively frivolous), serious danger awaits.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #28, Preponderance of the Great. A great burden is reaching its breaking point, but the stress is understandable. That is, one can see the cause of the problem. Swift action is recommended. However, even though the issue has serious risks, it does not mean total catastrophe; it is a temporary time, an out of the ordinary time. Therefore address the problem with confidence, knowing that the time will pass — address the problem and transition to the new situation (which is really the situation that existed before the problem).