I asked the Yi, how to proceed in a specific situation.
The answer was Hex 16 enthusiasm, the two bottom lines are moving.
I Ching : 16. Yü / Enthusiasm
It furthers one to install helpers And to set armies marching.
Thunder comes resounding out of the earth: The image of ENTHUSIASM. Thus the ancient kings made music In order to honor merit, And offered it with splendor To the Supreme Deity, Inviting their ancestors to be present.
Six at the beginning means: Enthusiasm that expresses itself Brings misfortune.
Six in the second place means: Firm as a rock. Not a whole day. Perseverance brings good fortune.
My first impression:
Halt, danger! Do not proceed!
Interesting feedback of a friend on this:
The first thing that struck me in your post was that your interpretation did not seem to answer your question. You asked: “HOW to proceed.” You did not ask: should I proceed? I don’t know the situation, but to me, the question assumes that you are planning to proceed (despite danger or doubt or whatever is causing you to ask) and you want to know the best way…the ‘how’ of proceeding or the best way of proceeding. So saying ‘stop’ would not be an answer to your question. Now, you can always decide, after answering ‘how,’ that you do not want to proceed. But I would look at it first for the answer you asked.
To me the imagery of the trigrams express that you as represented by Earth can be open, flexible, yielding. But the ‘how to approach’ should be like thunder which is to go for it and give it all you got. Proceed with enthusiasm.
Line 1 is at the beginning, which can be a first step or represent not yet taking action. At the beginning of Earth it means that you can take time to consider if this is an action you want to take. You don’t have to be impulsive…but when you do decide, then proceed like thunder.
Line 2 is about making your decision known, perhaps expressing it or sharing it, depending on the situation. Here is where you fix in your mind your determination to proceed. Again, when you decide and become determined, then how to proceed is like thunder. I do not feel it tells you to stop, but to make up your mind before you proceed. And when you do make up your mind. You can still choose not to proceed, but once you have the surety and the determination then the ‘how’ is to proceed like thunder.
My thoughts on this:
Consulting the oracle for myself is always tricky, that’s why I asked feedback from friends.
My real question is hiding behind the visible one, the true question was: should I proceed with dating?
My own intrepretation of the oracle shows my own insecurity.
The more useful intrepretation tells me to do some deep soul-searching: is this really a situation I want to continue? What do I really want?
As soon as I acknowledge my real desire, I have to act on it.
P.S.
Recently I made a trance-journey in the netherworld, this showed me the need to confront some shadows from my past. Old fears, behavioral patterns, defence-mechanisms.
Source: I Ching : 16. Yü / Enthusiasm