We're Going Through It

Consulting The I Ching on these times and ABUNDANCE

It feels like everyone is going through it right now.

How are you doing?

I wrote a few weeks ago about the political ups and downs that we’re collectively navigating and some of the emotional distance required to survive it all. But I’ve observed something similar in my life and in the lives of many people around me. It’s not just that things feel like a lot—that’s been the case for a long time. There’s something else to it. What’s happening now doesn’t so much feel like a never-ending rollercoaster but like preparation for a defining tectonic shift.

Something is happening deep under the surface. An old cycle is ending and a new one is on the way.

Hilma af Klint, Untitled 05, Tree of Life

Is this true for you? What is ending and what are you beginning?

The only divination method that I use with any regularity is The I Ching, an ancient Taoist oracle known as “The Book of Changes” made up of 64 possible responses. Since I’m kicking off a two-part course on The I Ching next Saturday, I felt moved to ask the I Ching a question for all of us right now. I’m curious what guidance we might need for navigating these times and what feels like a big shift.

The question I tend to ask is very simple: What do I need to hear?

This divination technique has been a part of my life for over twenty years. It’s been a companion through my ups and downs, through my swing changes, and my big life decisions.

I’ve seen what this ancient little book can offer others too. It can curb some best-laid plans with fair warnings, if we’re ready to listen. When we need a gut check, we can get that too. And when we need reassurance, we can receive it in spades.

Let me give you an example.

A couple of months ago, I led a retreat with eleven Quarterlifers and two co-hosts. After several days of clarifying goals and plans, all thirteen people consulted The I Ching. With 64 possible responses, five people received hexagram 55 called “Abundance.” The statistical likelihood of this is nearly 1/1,000,000. Not a single person received a hexagram that felt negative or ominous in any way, though plenty of those responses exist. Others received hexagrams that spoke directly to their situation and personal symbolism. To a person, the overall effect of this was much needed joy and a sense of awe. After days of deep emotional work, we had a collective sense that we were being watched over; cared for.

Call it what you will.

I have no idea how this little book works, and I don’t expect I’ll ever find out. But I’ve long ago stopped wondering. The magic it offers is too visceral and helpful to get lost in cynicism and doubt.

And while I’ve never asked The I Ching a question for a newsletter before, I’m curious to learn what guidance we might collectively receive. I invite you along, as I ask a question about these times. Please share what you hear in the response below.

Here we go.

Question:

Individually and collectively, it feels as though we’re experiencing a seismic shift, letting go of the old and making space for something new. What do we need to hear?

(I throw three pennies six times and receive what is best described as a simple binary code.)

Response:

Hexagram 54, “Playing a Subordinate Role” changing to Hexagram 55, “Abundance.”

Ha! Alright, this is funny. Abundance again.

Abundance is coming, all. I’m not kidding. It’s wild how frequently this Hexagram keeps popping up. It’s important to note—for those not familiar with The I Ching—that any of the 64 hexagrams can transform into any other hexagram. In this case, the numbers are sequential: 54 changed to 55. But that’s just a coincidence here.

I’ll be so curious to hear how this resonates for you.

Hexagram 54 has always fascinated me. The backstory involved is a little complicated (its more faithful translation is “The Marrying Maiden”) but I’d summarize it like this: lay low with the knowledge that things will work out; what currently feels like a powerless position will soon transform into a powerful position. Play the subordinate role for now. Don’t worry too much about outcomes and don’t jostle for power. Hang tight. Things will shift.

The Stephen Karcher translation of Hexagram 54 from Total I Ching says this:

[This Hexagram] describes your situation in terms of a change you must go through which is beyond your control. You are not the one who has chosen. The force involved is larger than you are. The way to deal with it is accept it and let yourself be led. You cannot escape the situation. It reflects a deep and unacknowledged need. It is moving you towards a new field of activity, the place where you belong.

The work here is to balance one’s latent power and will with a strategic use of deference—not as a show or manipulation, but as a genuine posture for the time being. Because ultimately, things will change.

It is a sudden change of state, a transformation that occurs outside of your control and leads to fulfilling your innate destiny or virtue.

This hexagram then transforms into #55, Abundance. We might think of this as an “if this, then” sequence: If 54, then 55. If you lay a bit low for now, then abundance.

Hexagram 55 in the same Karcher translation reads like this:

Brightness and warmth permeating the world and stirring up growth. Thunder and lightning bring everything to culmination. Assemble all your force. Don’t be afraid to act alone. Acquiring a field of activity means having a great idea.

And from the Sarah Dening translation, The Everyday I Ching:

The conditions are such that you can fulfill your potential and realize your goals. Relationships and projects will thrive. Success is assured. Be open and generous. Life will continue to give to you in the measure which you give to others. Only if you hold back, will the flow of abundance to you begin to dry up. …Do not allow your enjoyment of the situation to be clouded by anxiety about the future. It is true that nothing stays the same forever. But the best insurance against future problems is to build on your current position of strength.

Does this speak to you? What feels true? Are you in the midst of a big shift, or do you feel one brewing? What’s been happening? I’d love to hear.

---

My two-part class, Community I Ching, starts next Saturday. Do you have a question you’d love to ask? Join me to learn more about this divination technique and gather with other fabulous humans as we seek guidance for our lives and these times. Paid subscribers get 15% off registration.

For more about The I Ching, in conversation with

Elise Loehnen

:

New Year's Eve Gathering + Ritual