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MONDAY’S POEM: Patience
Patience has been a life-long lesson for me. I have committed to learn it, probably not finally but fully, this year. My “word for the year” is Patience. And with that announcement and commitment, my first poem of they year is just that!
Patience
Always rushing, always late.
Bly: “It’s already too late.”
What’s the hurry, why the haste?
Are we afraid death will win the race?
Ignore the signs, sharp curve ahead.
The moon is waxing, move briskly ahead.
But after the waxing, the moon will wane.
All that briskness; All in vain?
Waiting, always waiting, never enough.
Patience, learning patience, more than enough!
Where is the action, why just sit?
Are we afraid Death won’t fit?
Rushing or waiting, all the same.
Waxing and waning, cycles the same.
Let life catch up; it has its flow.
Be as patient as death; keep it slow.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.

I CHING GUA FOR THE NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN
We not only rang in a New Year at midnight on January 1, we also experienced a New Moon at 7:14 AM Eastern time on the First. Lots of new energy to begin the year!
As one of my practices I cast an I Ching Gua (a hexagram of yin and yang lines) on each new moon to “read” the energies that are coming in for us. The I Ching or “book of change” can be used as a divination tool, not so much to predict what is coming but to get a sense of the energies of change that may be coming up through the month. This is another of the many “intuitive tools” that are available to us to help us sense beyond the usual three-dimensional ways through our five senses.
To help with the interpretation of the Gua I rely on a book by Taoist Master Alfred Huang: The Complete I Ching. I find his translation to be thorough, detailed and clear. Of course there is plenty of room for my own reading of the Gua because the words and meanings of the I Ching can be open and obscure.
For January the Gua I cast using a 50-yarrow stalk method generated this hexagram:
The “x” and circles through the 3rd, 4th and 6th lines indicate they are “changing lines.” Master Huang recommends reading only the middle changing line when there are three. So, only the 4th line is used to generate a new, changed Gua as pictured below.
But first we need to understand “Hindrance.” This Gua is made up of two trigrams, Earth is the lower one and Heaven is the upper. This is not a particularly auspicious Gua because Heaven is above and drawing away from the Earth. There is a block here against progress. It is the opposite of “Advance” which is the preceding Gua in the I Ching sequence. But this is a natural flow: after advancing there comes hindrance. And, naturally, after a time of hindrance there can be further advance.
For me the energy here is to pause, for a short time. The Hindrance-Energy is on the way out with 2013. (Note the volatility of this initial Gua with three changing line.) Yet, there is no need to leap into anything big early in the New Year.
Using only the middle line, the 4th, as the changing line yields this Gua:
The Guan here is the same word as in Guan Yin the Goddess of Compassion. The literal meaning of her name is “Watching Sound.” In this sense Guan means meditating or concentrating.
The message for me is to meditate on any actions for the month and proceed with caution. In all things be an example. Watch yourself and also remember you are being watched by others. Contemplate before action. This Gua is approached from Hindrance. While the energy barriers are lifting and Hindrance is shifting there is no need for haste. Be considerate.
A further way to interpret a Gua is to form a new one from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines as the lower trigram and the 3rd, 4th and 5th lines as the upper trigram. This yields the “mutual gua” – in this case Bo, Falling away. This too holds a sense of warning energy. Conserve what you have. This New Moon will wax to fullness and then wane again. Proceed with caution during the waning moon.
Hindrance quickly yields to Watching early in the month. Meditate on all action. As the Chinese say about Pi: pi ji tai lai, which means: “Out of the depths of misfortune comes bliss. At the end of Hindrance appears Advance.”
Enjoy this moon-cycle and the start of this fabulous New Year however you wish to interpret the energies captured by the I Ching!

PS: My friend and astrologer, Gloria Hesseloff, had this to say about this Capricorn New Moon: “2014 invites us to continue ‘planting the seeds’ for the next 26,000 years, or at least the next few generations.” Planting seeds for generations certainly requires thoughtful patience!
Reflections on 2013
We have reached the last weekend of 2013! I hope yours has been as adventurous as mine has. I have experienced some significant ups and downs; this is the way of life. The ups remind us of how high we can fly! And the downs come along to teach us our lessons so we can fly higher still!
So, whatever happened through the year, reflect on the gains and the lessons (which are also gains). And carry the changes, the newness, your transformed self into 2014 with confidence, character and that sense of adventure that keeps life grand.
I want to conclude this short note today with a huge Thank You to all of you who follow this blog and frequently “like” my writings, especially the poems. Do know that I visit your blogs too and appreciate your efforts, even if I don’t always click through. I’ll work harder to make my appreciation known going forward.
Finally, I would like to let you know about a major project I am beginning to plan for 2014. I will share the details as I work through them and I will share the process as it unfolds. I am excited; I hope you will follow my progress with enthusiastic support!
Blessings and love as you wind down 2013 and look ahead to a fantastically transformational 2014!

PS: Next year will be wonderful! How do I know? Because I listened to a message from The Divine Feminine channeled by Rosemary on the Winter Solstice; and they offered guidance and advice on what we might expect in 2014 and how to approach the year’s upcoming energy. Expect more change! The transformation continues! If you missed the message it is now available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Mesage




