In pondering this week’s Hexagram 58: Opposition from The I Ching it makes me wonder yet again what it would be like if world leaders had an I Ching expert on staff.
Again and again the I Ching reminds us to not use force. If someone opposes you, you cannot bring about unity by force.
When two parties who are in opposition work together, they should limit themselves to working on making progress in small matters. We can make small progress with people we disagree with while preserving our individuality at the same time.
The nature image for this hexagram is Fire and Lake because the two move in opposition directions: Fire has an upward motion, and Lake (water) has a downward motion.
Alfred Huang calls this hexagram Diversity instead of Opposition because of the diversity in people’s vision:
“All diversity can be harmonized, no matter whether it is between members of a household, or members of a society, or between nations of the world. The clue lies in one’s attitude. If both sides are willing to come together in sincerity and truthfulness, no problem cannot be solved.”
Happily, there is a reference to joy in this hexagram:
“The joyous clings to the brilliant. The yielding advances and moves upward. It attains the central place and corresponds to the firm. This is why there is good fortune in little things.”
The Saturnian Capricorn season is the perfect time to focus on making progress in little things, as Capricorn is all about wanting to build things that last, rather than focusing on unrealistic New Year’s resolutions.
This is my last blog post of 2023 and I wrote 46 blog posts this year. In May I had the inspiration to start writing about astrology in tandem with the week’s I Ching Hexagram and these little things have helped me rediscover my love of writing. They have also given me a structure to write about astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology in a way that I hope is accessible to a reader that knows nothing about any of those topics, but yet also interesting to someone who knows a lot about those topics. I like to think of these posts as a way of providing bibliotherapy. I still also write the occasional long form pieces about personality typology and astrology.
What little things brought you good fortune this year? I wish you all the best for 2024 and thank you very much if you read one or several of my posts in 2023.
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References:
The Complete I Ching by Alfred Huang
