Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

Foundation
(2S) Humility 謙

⬈

Situation
(RW) Traveling 旅

↓

Approaching
(5W) Conflict 訟

⬉

Anticipation
(5W) Conflict 訟

My apologies for missing yesterday’s reading. After working on a new card method that doesn’t generate as many changing lines, I wasn’t feeling up to the task of actually doing the reading.

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

Received: 師 Multitude - Six of Wands

Approaching: 剝 Eroding - Three of Cups

The nature of oracles can be quite fascinating, particularly in the way a reading can cycle back into conscious expression throughout the course of the questioned period. Doing daily readings has certainly opened me up further to the many subtle ways the advice of the Changes can arise. Yesterday’s reading, Stillness, was in my mind frequently as I worked through the challenges of the day. Frustrating blocks at work reminded me to still my hands, consider the problem before working on it. Frustrations communicating with people reminded me to keep the jaws still, consider the words to be said carefully before committing to them. Mostly though, I took the core advice to still the body, the trunk, in mind. Those frustrations had my heart on fire, pounding angrily and ready to lead me right into trouble.

I’m grateful, I suppose, for those frustrations. They pushed me into reviewing the reading yesterday, rereading the related passages and widening my reading to include more sources, more opinions on the matter. None of that changed my thoughts on the reading, but it did all deepen my understanding of the reading and the subtle contours of the situations that 艮 Stilling ䷳ covers. On to today’s reading…

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

Received: 艮 Stilling - Eight of Swords

Approaching: 節 Boundary - Rider of Cups
Approaching: 旅 Traveling - Rider of Wands

Halloween! Samhain! Dia de los Muertos! The days of all saints and souls. Modern capitalist society has driven us towards the commercial consumerist consolidation of all our spiritual days, yet there is a spirit secreted in this season that remains untouched. The autumn is a liminal time, daylight hours shift rapidly, the weather cools, storms make their erratic rounds. School semesters start, summer joys retire and pass, and the winter looms ahead. No one talks about “autumn cleaning” like we do in the spring, yet winterizing and preparation are quite similar (if potentially more dire) activities. Fundamentally, it’s a time of intense annual change, and any lingering unresolved changes and crises will ache for completion before winter brings it’s unique challenges upon us.

The calendar of the sky marks these spirit holidays at nearly the halfway mark between equinox and solstice. While most religious calendars use those solar days to mark the beginnings of fall and winter, for me it really is Halloween that marks the climax of autumn and the start of the downhill ride to full winter. At these times, we sense the transitory nature of the world and ourselves, and connect more deeply to the questions of our souls.

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What remains unresolved as we transition the seasons?” and it replies:

無妄 Sincerity (25) - Lady of Swords

Approaching: 泰 Advance - Seven of Swords
Approaching: 否 Hindrance - Seven of Wands

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

剝 Eroding (23)

Tarot: Three of Swords
Approaching: 小畜 Small Power - Two of Wands

The Eternal Dao

A dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.
A name that is known is not the eternal Name.
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of all things.
Those who are eternally without desire look to the mysterious.
Those who are eternally desiring look to the manifestation.
These arise together but are known differently.
Their common source is called obscure.
Obscurity within dark mystery,
this is the gateway of understanding.

Last night was an invigorating experience, as I read some of my writing on stage for the first time since the pre-COVID times. Today I’m feeling somewhat drained by the experience, still processing through the emotions of it all. It feels like a good reminder that when we reach a creative pinnacle, a high-yang condition, the inevitable turn back to the receptive and nurturing yin is quite welcome.

As I’m still getting the correspondences worked out, I’m going to discontinue drawing majors and runes for now, at least publicly on this blog. I think I’d rather get them solidified a bit and then incorporate them fully into the readings, rather than this half-measure I’ve been experimenting with.

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

坤 Responding (2)

Tarot: Ace of Cups
Approaching: 益 Increasing - King of Discs

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

坤 Responding (2)

Tarot: Ace of Cups
Approaching: 小畜 Small Power - Two of Wands
Major & Rune: Death & ᛠ Ēar

The Reading

Through the eight phases we prepare, then we ask the oracle, “What lesson does the day hold for us?” and it replies:

小過 Small Exceeding (62)

Tarot: Ten of Wands (Reversed)
Approaching: 蹇 Hardship - Nine of Swords
Major & Rune: Martyr & ᛏ Tī