Eminent - expansion. Harvest - determination.
Eminent
YUAN means (literally) a person’s head. It indicates head, first,
chief, great, primary, fundamental, good, spring. The Yuan-sacrifice is a
sacrifice brought in spring, in the time of the beginning of growth, the time of
sowing.
When it says in a hexagram ‘yuan’, this means there is an opening,
new fields for things to happen or make them happen, new paths. There is
creative potential, or material to work with.
Resources are still small, but do with them
whatever you can. Make the best use of them, and don't be afraid to invest them.
Expansion
HENG also is the name
of a sacrifice, one brought in summer. The crop is growing, and now the gods are
implored to make it a big and rich one. There are already enough proceeds to
offer to them, so this sacrifice is two-way: offering and receiving.
In a hexagram it indicates expansion, growth, success, abundance. Be
willing to offer from what you have, it will make your profits larger. Stingy
people rarely make a success of anything. Important too is to believe in what
you do. Confidence is a great fertilizer.
Harvest
LI means ‘harvest’: it is a wheat-plant and a knife. For a hexagram
it means that there are possibilities and opportunities, but one has to grasp
them. There will be a return on time and energy invested*. It is important now to gather and use everything, to store it safely, and
to make sure it will not become moldy.
Determination
ZHEN, finally, is oracle-consulting, but also receiving an answer. And
most important: to follow the advice of the gods. That is why it is usually
translated as perseverance or determination or correctness.
Everyone has a different name for the gods: God or intuition or Manitou
or the spirit of grandmother. It is not really important, what counts is if one
listens. So when it says ‘determination auspicious’ it is good in this
context to ask your higher counselor what to do, and to stick to it. Sometimes,
not very often, it says determination is not favorable. Then one should be open
and alert and react to every new moment. Without any predetermined course. Not
even with too much virtue. Virtue is a good thing, but in some circumstances a
little less virtue can save one from calamities. The Yi is practical: he wants
the highest spirit possible, but not your misfortune.
* Bradford Hatcher