Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

097 Starting the journey
You did it! The preparations for the big effort or for the future are finished. But before you throw everything into the hard work you can start now, enjoy the celebration of this milestone. Meet peers and make friends and future allies. Nothing better than feasting together to form strong bonds.

098 Rats

Don’t think you see everything which happens. Many things stay in the dark. Much is overlooked because it doesn’t catch your attention, so be vigilant when signing something. Don’t stumble in the dusk. Don’t miss the small nice gestures or words but don’t miss the small bad ones either.

099 Astride a crane

When there are few possibilities in the place where you are, then fly out to a more promising one. Don’t settle for what everyone expects of you, but find your own path. Set your aspirations high, put all your enthusiasm into it and dare to take risks. It is the only way to find your real destination.

100 The black dragon’s pearl

In spring the first appearance of the dragon signals the end of winter, and when it reaches the full moon, the dragon’s pearl, everyone celebrates. Still, a sudden late frost can ruin the crop. In life things often happen that way, but usually you get a new chance after every setback. Make sure you grab it.

101 Peace

Sometimes the world is perfectly in order. It doesn’t happen often, and many times it is rather how you experience it than the harsh reality out there. So it makes sense to create this world inside. Not too often, you have to stay alert. But often enough that you get the rest and joy you need.

102 Foster happiness

Sometimes there is a standstill and sometimes things prosper. Both need the same attitude: doing everything the best you can, without being a victim of either one. It will shorten the stagnation and lengthen the time of good fortune and easy living. Fighting obstruction may just acknowledge it.

103 Thousand years

When the time is easy and prosperous, then remember how it came about. Maybe through luck, but more often it happens thanks to hard work and the foresight of one or more bright minds. Don’t be (or choose) a leader who can keep things the way they are, find one who aims for a good future.

104 Solid as Mt. Tai

This is not the time to be hesitant or to reckon too much with circumstances. You need to be certain of what you want, and to do it. Don’t let anyone or anything thwart it. Move ahead in a way which is unstoppable. Tact and caution are very valuable, but not right now.

105 Cloud ladder

Innumerable are the dreams about almost reaching something and not being able to actually touch it. It is not just in dreams, there are many things you almost accomplish – and something stops you. Very often it is your own mind. Trust yourself and universe might give you that last little push.

106 Alone

People are social, but they also need to be alone from time to time. If circumstances prevent one of the two, many become stressed or unhappy. Try to find a life in which both are possible. Where you can be alone or with others, each in its own measure and at the moment you need it.

107 Autumn leaves

Many fears and worries only get a chance at night. Lying awake or with harried dreams. After sleeping well, the day looks fine. After a night without sleep the same day looks bleak. Try not to take the dreams with you into the day. They are like autumn leaves, trees loosen them to survive the winter.

108 Tangled affairs

Clean up and clear up. When things are not organized, they will not get done. Your brain also needs organization, find out what is important and has to be done first, and what is better not to do at all. Because a garbage bin is a great place to put things and thoughts which only clutter up everything.

109 The easy highway

Old paths or habits seldom lead to new solutions. Open your mind to new ideas, look around, gather all your self-confidence and find new roads and opportunities. Don’t believe ‘no pain no gain’, many gains come from exploring places happy-go-lucky, where chance or curiosity or fun leads you.

110 Sleepless night

One thought can keep you wide awake. Try to solve things before they become like gnawing rats. But a rat can also mean a new idea which you couldn’t see in broad daylight. An intuition, a concept, an insight or a memory. Many brilliant solutions were born in the dark of the night.

111 Commenting the weather

To say the obvious is a great way to make conversation and to chase away the silence. Not everyone likes it though. Find (or emulate) the kind of people you like to hear, or you will spend your days hearing the same old same old, over and over, again and again, and never anything original or interesting.

112 A hero’s will

Many things decide about your success in life, but the most important one is your will. Intelligence, courage, common sense, honesty, or even deviousness, to name a few, all those are secondary to the strength of your will. Only with your will you can really develop yourself or reach your goals.

113 The way of Thunder

Depression is an awful state of mind. But often it has to do with a lack of challenge. When climbing a mountain, the gloomy mind stays behind and is replaced by a very alert and alive one. You have no need of numbing drugs but you thrive on the test of everything you’ve got. Embrace shocks and challenges!

114 Great waves

Sometimes the mind can go on and on about tiny things. Yes or no, good or bad without end. But when suddenly something big overrules all that, the mind frees itself and everything looks bright and most of all realistic again. Looking back on it, you’re amazed how cramped your head can be.

115 Dark moon

Some things are too big or too difficult for you to solve. Don’t give up but do the small things you still can. Ease things up, help, diminish aversion, mediate, make yourself ready for when the time changes. Don’t get stuck in this impasse. Things will change, they always do, especially with a little help.

116 The tentacles of a snail

You make nice starts, repeatedly, but then you drown in the details and short-term ideas. When one reaches only for small gains, nothing big can happen. Those who are closer to the earth laugh about it. They are familiar with the slow, harmonious and sturdy way things grow in nature.

117 Abundance

When things are good, there is no need to make them better. Certainly not if it involves plans and schemes. Enjoy what you have and how life is for you. Patience may be more useful than schemes. You have been smart enough to gather all this, now be smart enough to enjoy it.

118 All in accord

Shenshu tells you everything is fine, all signs are auspicious. What is your reaction – lie back and enjoy the ride, or keep your eyes open and senses alert, and yet still enjoy it? Never believe omens and predictions blindly. Make use of them, they can be very helpful, but also listen to your instincts and wisdom.

119 No need for pretty words

When you are not the kind who can live in the big world, it will seem there are no other options than either drown in it or withdraw entirely. There is a space though in between the slums and the monastery, the space of decent people, who care about each other. That is where you belong.

120 Decide

As long as you cannot make up your mind, nothing will succeed. Sometimes it is simple, other times there is no good choice at all. Like when people insist they are right even when wrong, or you have to decide between two evils. Then choose to compromise or let it go. Don’t let yourself dangle in indecision.

121 Rosy clouds

Maybe you have to accept that the time is not favorable for what you want. Never give up though. There might come a day when suddenly things change, even after a long time. Don’t live in hopes but don’t give up either, or you might miss this little window when it finally comes around.

122 Cycles

Life moves in cycles, so don’t stop and completely end things. Start new but keep the good while also adding your own input. Respect the old and nourish the new and create something which is more than the sum of its parts. This way you can give it your love and it will not perish with change.

123 Harmony *

Are you able to give yourself entirely to someone? Even when people trust or love, it is still difficult. There is a moment when the full moon is exactly facing the sun, not turning sideways at all. If you find someone who responds in this way, it means you found a friend or partner for life.

124 The precious mirror *

Some people believe in ‘soul mates’. But to find a soul mate, you need a big heart which can love another totally. If you find someone with a heart like yours, then you can become soul mates. The predestination is not between the two of you, it is in each of you. It is inside your hearts.

125 Not holding things together

All people have different talents. When they come together, as partners, team, or family, and each honors the talents of the other, cooperation will be successful. As soon as anyone refuses to acknowledge superiority, things start to fall apart. It is this weakest link which breaks the chain.

126 Come out of the dark

Don’t stay in the dark and unknown. Find peers you can exchange with or people you can learn from. Find a goal to believe in, make friends, stop waiting and start acting. You can find inspiration if you clean and clear up your life and step out in the open. Creativity does not wait, it happens.

127 Natural caution

Adapt your reactions to the circumstances. Being straightforward may sound honest and genuine, but it can also kill or ruin you. Very often the reality around you is larger than your own truth. You are supposed to live a long, good and healthy life, and you yourself are responsible that it happens.

128 Small result * (see after 228)

Without steadiness in what you are or what you do, nothing steady will come of it. You need commitment and loyalty, or people will discard you. You need perseverance and a clear direction, or nothing will come out of your hands. Inside you have to be one, before you can accomplish anything on the outside.

129 Playing the flute

Start early and work on until you succeed. Then you will achieve much. The result will be that you can enjoy what you really love in your free time. Your achievements made it possible, your life is fulfilled in all ways. You know both the satisfaction of success and the joy of a contented heart.

130 Affairs come together

Everything is fine, nothing goes wrong, things are how and where they are supposed to be, people behave better than ever, even nature cooperates in all ways. Don’t question it, enjoy it for as long as it lasts. The balance will swing back to bad times soon enough, use this easy time to the fullest.

131 Groundless fears

Facts and ideas can both change in the blink of an eye. One moment everything is fine, the next things or the mind or both fall apart. Build up solid surroundings and a strong mind so you are less vulnerable and less fearful, and trust yourself that you can get out again if fate hits you.

132 Easy again

When things open up, and opportunities come along, then grasp them immediately and make use of what presents itself. These chances may not come a second time, and very often they don’t arrive with pomp. They come by in the form of small happenings, unexpected and gentle, accidentally.

133 The golden-scaled fish

Many things come swimming in your net all by themselves when your mind is at rest. Nobody knows if it is universe assisting you, or the positive power of your heart which calls for them, or the creativity of seeing all things as half-full instead of half-empty. It doesn’t matter, it is the way it is. Your way.

134 Never a whole

You either doubt everything or you are too certain. A common mistake is, that insight has to do with looking at the facts. But it has more to do with balance and trusting your heart, and that will connect you with the world around you instead of setting you apart from it. Facts divide, insight connects.

135 The real joy

Forgetting one’s worries and hurts for a moment is not enough. They will catch up with you again. The only thing which is stronger than the dark, is turning the dark into a valuable part of your life. Only hardship can strengthen your soul, use it and appreciate its lessons.

136 Magpies and love

Emotions are not to be fixed. Give them the freedom to find their true course. Let your love go where it goes all by itself. It is not wrong if it changes, if one person goes and another comes. Life is about learning, nothing stays the same, so learn and apply what you learned.

137 Setting sun

The time is turbulent and difficult. There comes a moment when it feels useless to try anything anymore. Decide what you want to do about it. You can get up and try to change things, or you can relax and accept all of it. Just don’t stay in between. Whatever you decide, do it all the way.

138 A nod of the moon

Part of the ability to organize and decide on matters is being able to stop. Keep your mind clear and free and you will detect anything you need to detect. People who climb high have this kind of strong mind. Freedom and success both have to do with being bold, not with endless planning.

139 Right place right time

Luck was on your side, but good thinking and acting were right there as well. You did everything exactly right, all circumstances cooperated, and nothing went wrong. Later, when all is done and you relax, you already begin to see the first signs of your success. Now you only need to believe it yourself.

140 Dreaming

You have to stop this unrealistic pursuit and find new ways and methods. Most of all change the way you go about it. Turn your dreams into reality by realistic solid actions, by finding the ways to reach your goal, talking to the right people and making sure things happen the way you want them to.

141 In the blink of an eye *

In the dark of the night, but also when consumed by insecurity, misgivings, doubts, the unknown, all these obscure thoughts and feelings can inspire worry and anxiousness. The moment the light comes back, everything is bright and familiar again. Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

142 Making a name

Life is not only about what you like. One has to make a living, perform duties, follow one’s conscience. Very often it seems as if it is not about you, but you’re wrong. Without earning honor, inside and outside, you will never feel the satisfaction of fulfilling a purpose, of giving meaning to your life.

143 Everything entangled

The time is tough. Try not to engage but rather to calm everything down, to assist instead of fueling the fire. Be the best you can, strong, with empathy, authority or intelligence or whatever is needed most. And if nothing works, stay aloof. Everything is better than to be part of the trouble.

144 Heaven in the bottle

Life is usually not easy and most people try to find some peace among all its challenges. If you can find your Dao, you are blessed. It brings joy and peace. Many try to find it in the oblivion of substances, but that is very different. It does not bring peace but removes the awareness of missing peace.