Mar 24 26
Four of Wands
9. The Taming Power of the Small
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 “I.X.T.C.”: The vacillation between a feeling of general pointlessness (cynicism) and a narcissism (greed) obscured/concealed by feigned group concerns, seems to dominate my design and art peers. We find this endlessly depressing. Last week the oracle said that “sincerity” was the optimal state. We liked that immensely; is sincerity a good counter to the thoughts expressed in my first sentence?
Oracle reply: Right, yes, from last week: “Reason is the heart, the soul locked up within the body, the principle of light enclosed in the dark... ...if one is sincere when confronted with difficulties, the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation.” Yes, this connects to your question well...
Humans hold themselves back because of fear. Fear is necessary for a few things, but ultimately it is a weak prime motivator. You are expressing fear, the fear that the time is supposed to reflect your feelings for it, but it isn’t. You are not the center of anything and the world moves the way the world moves. All you can do is work on what you think is important, the law of averages says that this will bring the best harvest. Try with all of your might to make good use of your time — the world has always been distracting or worse.
Complete Reading:
This week we pulled The Four of Wands. The metaphor/image, a country home in a period of prosperous harvest; a kind of perfection of longstanding efforts. Generally, the understanding of how prosperity works, i.e. you reap what you sow (sacrifice brings later joy, the difficult push for boundaries brings meaning, etc.).
Our single hexagram this week is #9, The Taming Power of the Small. “This hexagram means the force of the small — the power of the shadowy — that retains, tames, impedes...” That is, “a strong element is temporarily held in leash by a weak element.” It’s not a catastrophic moment but it’s not a time of any real influence. There are recommendations: “It is only through gentleness that this can have a successful outcome… the time has not yet come for sweeping measures.” Ultimately push for “gentleness and adaptability in external relations.” Perhaps the feeling is akin to a plane caught in a holding pattern; one is at the mercy of the pilot and air traffic controllers to resolve the situation — however it is a time for possible preparation. Make use of times of ineffectualness by using them to compose and conceive.
- More often than not, current sacrifice brings later joy.
- Times of ineffectualness can be useful; use them to prepare, that is, to compose and conceive.
Question from “I.X.T.C.”: The vacillation between a feeling of general pointlessness (cynicism) and a narcissism (greed) obscured/concealed by feigned group concerns, seems to dominate my design and art peers. We find this endlessly depressing. Last week the oracle said that “sincerity” was the optimal state. We liked that immensely; is sincerity a good counter to the thoughts expressed in my first sentence?
Oracle reply: Right, yes, from last week: “Reason is the heart, the soul locked up within the body, the principle of light enclosed in the dark... ...if one is sincere when confronted with difficulties, the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation.” Yes, this connects to your question well...
Humans hold themselves back because of fear. Fear is necessary for a few things, but ultimately it is a weak prime motivator. You are expressing fear, the fear that the time is supposed to reflect your feelings for it, but it isn’t. You are not the center of anything and the world moves the way the world moves. All you can do is work on what you think is important, the law of averages says that this will bring the best harvest. Try with all of your might to make good use of your time — the world has always been distracting or worse.
Complete Reading:
This week we pulled The Four of Wands. The metaphor/image, a country home in a period of prosperous harvest; a kind of perfection of longstanding efforts. Generally, the understanding of how prosperity works, i.e. you reap what you sow (sacrifice brings later joy, the difficult push for boundaries brings meaning, etc.).
Our single hexagram this week is #9, The Taming Power of the Small. “This hexagram means the force of the small — the power of the shadowy — that retains, tames, impedes...” That is, “a strong element is temporarily held in leash by a weak element.” It’s not a catastrophic moment but it’s not a time of any real influence. There are recommendations: “It is only through gentleness that this can have a successful outcome… the time has not yet come for sweeping measures.” Ultimately push for “gentleness and adaptability in external relations.” Perhaps the feeling is akin to a plane caught in a holding pattern; one is at the mercy of the pilot and air traffic controllers to resolve the situation — however it is a time for possible preparation. Make use of times of ineffectualness by using them to compose and conceive.