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New Moon in Gemini I Ching Divination
The Moon was exactly conjunct with the Sun, now in Gemini, at 2:43 PM Eastern time on Wednesday, May 28. Ah, I felt the energy shift as we moved through the New Moon. And the weather shifted, and the driving shifted…there were several accidents in the Annapolis area Thursday afternoon tying up traffic all over the region. Welcome to the shift!
As I do just after each New Moon, I cast a Gua, a six-line hexagram consisting of Yin and Yang (broken and solid) lines. I do this using a traditional yarrow stalk method and I use Taoist Master Alfred Huang’s The Complete I Ching as my guide into this deep and ancient text used for divination.
The hexagram I first received is pictured here. Its Chinese name is Shi He which Master Huang translates as “Eradicating.” Loosely translated this means “removing an obstacle to peace and harmony.” The removal or eradicating is done justly and swiftly. When we look at the two trigrams which compose the hexagram (the pair of three-line figures), we see that Li, or Fire sits on top of Zhen, or Thunder. This is like a thunderbolt striking swiftly to eradicate the obstruction.
The result of this swift action is good progress.
To complicate matters the second line (counting from the bottom) is a “changing line.” The I Ching is the “book of change” so it is good that there is a changing line in the hexagram. This indicates that things, events, energies are not static for the month. Changing the second line from a Yin line to a Yang line generates a new Gua or hexagram pictured here.
Kui is interpreted by Master Huang to mean”Diversity.” Its actual meaning is “to go against or oppose.” This happens when people have differing points of view. The I Ching indicates that this is a positive thing. There is strength in diversity. One Chinese saying suggests that we “seek harmony in diversity and good fortune will follow in little ways.” And I particularly like: “resolving diversity should be as natural as the clouds accumulating and bringing down the rain.”
So, what does this mean for the month ahead? How do these two Gua inform us and help us with the energies we may encounter through the coming four weeks?
Early in the month there may be an obstacle or two we need to deal with. But we can cut through this blockage as swiftly as a thunderbolt as long as we are justified in our action. Act fairly; consider all sides. Then swift action leads to good progress for the remainder of the month.
After the obstacles are eradicated we may encounter some divergence of opinion around some life issues. The advice here is to consider all sides (just as we need to do with the obstacle). The key is to seek harmony, to compromise in the larger issues, find common ground across the diversity and thereby gain strength.
These Gua offer good advice for any time: cut through obstacles and gain strength through compromise when opinions diverge. Good progress and auspicious outcome are the result in both cases!
Watch how you deal with obstacles that might pop up for you this month. And observe the diversity that appears in your life. Seek compromise and make progress!
Oh, and my friend and astrologer, Gloria Hesseloff writes this about the New Moon in Gemini: “Mercury, the ruler of Gemini wisely informs us that if there is any magic in the work it is…a shift in our perceptions!” She suggests: “‘THIS IS A TIME FOR SETTING A NEW COURSE IN LIFE’ Fear may arise as we make these changes. The opposite of fear is LOVE. Find a way to love what you fear!” Seems to me this approach is a great way to cut through obstacles and harmonize diversity!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: What Are You Committed To?
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: What Are You Committed To?
MONDAY’S POEM: Signs and Wonders
It has been quite a month with significant astrological and astronomical events occurring in the heavens. And we have been traveling on the west coast during these times of change and rebirth. Tonight, 11:14 PM Pacific time, we have one more April event to push us farther along this path to awakening: a solar eclipse.
In recognition of these events I wrote:
Signs and Wonders
Eclipsed Moon, Earth’s shadow hiding
Features, drawing blood, going deep.
Long shadows cast along a path
Of discovery and regeneration.
Grand Cross, Cardinal Signs, upheaval,
Rebellion, war god soothed in the
House of Love. God of Hades opposing
Expansion and stabilizing influences.
Eclipsed Sun, Moon’s shadow hiding
Light, blotting out life’s blood.
Dark shadows reaching far in this time
Of reformation and transformation.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Change. Evolve. Change. Evolve. – Richard’s Commentary
We are spiraling toward something…do we know what that something is? Do we have a choice?
Rosemary uses the digital age of recording advances; 1.0, 2.0…she claims:
Each of us is ever evolving into the next version of ourselves – Me 2.0, Me 3.0, etc. Are you making conscious choices about your own evolutionary process or are you reacting to what is happening around you and evolving unconsciously into the next you?
Sometimes I wonder if each of us is truly evolving. Or are some of our fellows content to have things remain just as they are; content with the status quo? Are you evolving consciously or are you content to maintain your position and standing in life? Can you maintain it without changing?
I spent a good part of this past weekend immersed in Integral Theory, as best articulated by Ken Wilber. The specific topic of this Integral Life conference was “The Fourth Turning.” This “Turning” refers to the evolution of Buddhism. To summarize the background, there have been three “turnings” of Buddhism, or evolutions of the movement: there are three current forms or “schools”, namely the Theravada School, the Mahayana School and the Vajrayana School. The first school, or turning, is closely associated with the Buddhism originated by Gautama Buddha about 2600 years ago. About 200 AD the Mahayana School evolved out of and included original Buddhism. And in the 8th Century AD Vajrayana evolved out of and included Mahayana Buddhism.
Integral Life is proposing it is time for a “fourth turning” – a next generation of Buddhism; think of this as a progression from Buddhism 1.0 (Theravada) to Buddhism 2.0 (Mahayana) to Buddhism 3.0 Vajrayana to Buddhism 4.0! (A name or “yana” for this 4.0 was not offered!)
Here is the main point and argument: there has not been a real evolution in religion (any version, any sect, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hinduism…) for at least a thousand years. Perhaps it is time for an advance in spirituality.
I am not writing here to support or deny the specifics of what I heard at the “Fourth Turning Conference.” The specifics while interesting are not my point. The point is to support Rosemary’s premise:
The important aspect of humanity’s interaction with change is that we must be conscious of the choices we are making to bring about change, in ourselves and in the world around us.
Ken Wilber and company are making a conscious effort to define a New Spirituality, to embrace scientific, sociological and psychological advancements and to expand Consciousness and celebrate Humanity. They chose Buddhism because it has demonstrated an ability to evolve over its 2600-year history. And it already offers a high degree of advanced spiritual technology on which to build.
They are making conscious choices; they are looking forward and embracing the past; they are leveraging the advances in all areas of human technology to create a robust Spirituality to help carry humanity forward into its uncertain future.
I welcome and applaud this effort. Yes, we are spiraling toward something; and it can be of our choosing, if we choose to be involved!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Change. Evolve. Change. Evolve.
Our evolutionary process is not a straight line from here to there. We live in a world of spiraling change.
You’ve probably heard that ‘Change is constant,’ or ‘Change is inevitable.’ These are both true. Everything changes around us. Why should we believe that we won’t change, or that there is something bad or dangerous about change?
The important aspect of humanity’s interaction with change is that we must be conscious of the choices we are making to bring about change, in ourselves and in the world around us.
The caterpillar must spin its cocoon so that it might change/evolve into the butterfly that it was always meant to become. There is a process. If the caterpillars stayed the same we would have no beautiful butterflies to enjoy.
Each of us is ever evolving into the next version of ourselves – Me 2.0, Me 3.0, etc. Are you making conscious choices about your own evolutionary process or are you reacting to what is happening around you and evolving unconsciously into the next you?
Here is something I know about you. Inside you there is a beautiful Light, what I call your ‘Inner Splendor.’ This Light of YOU is meant to shine into the world and make the world a better place. No arguments. This means YOU.
And that Light inside you can continue to grow and to glow even more brightly every day of this lifetime. Are you shining your Light?
Wherever you are today in your life – career, business, relationships, health, finances – you are evolving and changing. Whatever today’s situation is it is not the last word. There is change coming. You are always at choice about your response to whatever is going on around you.
So will you choose to change, to advance the evolution of human consciousness by making choices for more Light? That is the important criteria as you move into a period of great change in your life. Ask this, “Does this choice I am making bring more Light into the world through me?”
All that this evolution asks of you is that you be the real you, that you share that Inner Splendor with the world, that you live the Purpose for which you were born.
This is about BEing you, not about DOing something. Accepting change means you can BE who you were born to be and can continue to grow, to evolve, to become even more conscious.
Not everyone is willing to participate in this great evolutionary process. Some folks resist change, or want to go backward to the way things used to be.
As the Borg would say [for all you Trekkies out there] ‘Resistance is Futile.’
To stay stuck in the way things are requires a great outlay of energy. To flow with change allows all your energy to be devoted to making conscious choices about who you are evolving into, the next version of you.
For every change that happens in you, in your life, there is a leap in your evolutionary process. Then there comes another opportunity for growth, for change, and another leap in your process. You spiral ever upward in your personal growth. You contribute more Light into the world around you.
Accept change. Welcome it. You are evolving. You are your own personal Butterfly 2.0, 3.0, etc.!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Spring is for Change!
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Spring is for Change!
A FRIDAY POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – Will We Survive?
In Rosemary’s”Exploration” this week she speaks of change and evolution – a frequent theme for both of us. As we move deeper into spring, the season of growth, change, we approach the Grand Cross that has the astrologers buzzing. Everyone is talking about change. Will it bring growth or will it bring destruction? The choice, as always, is ours!
Will We Survive?
The great wheel turns
Through the black cosmos
Always returning to the
Beginning,
Surviving another ending.
The cycles repeat
Monotonously consistent;
Yet each repetition
Carries change,
Signaling adjustment.
We return again
To a place of origin;
One more karmic turn,
Wondering.
Have we changed enough?
Will we survive?
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Spring Forward!
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Spring Forward!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Wake Up and Evolve!
I am so glad that you are reading this! It tells me that you are seeking, that you are open to exploring, that you care about ideas and what is happening on the Planet. Congratulations!
Sometimes it is difficult to have a discussion with someone who has closed their mind to new ideas and wants only to reinforce what they already believe. But this person is usually operating out of some fear that controls their thinking and, thus, their life.
Are you that kind of person in some area of your life? Oh, you might wish to think of yourself as broad-minded and open to new ideas, ready to shift your thinking, but what about that relationship in which you are certain that you have formed the correct opinion about the other person? What if you don’t know the whole picture, and, if you did, you would be more sympathetic, more understanding?
Big ideas can be like that. We THINK we know all we need to know about something and then we form an opinion. For many, that opinion then gets set into concrete, never to be brought out for re-examination or re-consideration. These are the ‘don’t confuse me with the facts’ people. Just as you might think you know enough about another person to form a solid opinion, what if they are dealing with cancer, just lost their job or a loved one, are coming from court after losing custody of their children? Would that alter your opinion?
You have many ideas about how the world is that were formed when you were growing up and making decisions about what to believe. You had a little kid’s perspective. You knew what that little kid knew, probably not the whole picture, and you decided to believe something.
This belief might be something like, ‘Daddy yelled at me because my report card isn’t good enough. I’ll never be good enough.’ Or, ‘My sister is the smart one. I can’t get as good a grade as she can.’ There are so many beliefs that are insidious because they live with that little child within who dwells in your unconscious mind. That inner child is making decisions for you in your life, at the unconscious level, based on the belief formed many years ago.
Have you ever planned to do something and then not carried through? How many New Year’s Resolutions have you broken? It’s this belief in your unconscious mind that trips you up.
But, when you really decide to grow, to wake up, to evolve, you can change your beliefs!
If you want to Live Your Richest Life, then you start with shedding anything that is holding you back or blocking you from the path you desire. This starts with the beliefs you hold that might not be true anymore, and, perhaps, were never true.
What if you believed that the Earth was flat? Would you get into a ship and sail across the ocean into that unknown and scary edge of the world? And then what if NASA launched a satellite that took a picture of Earth from Space that showed the blue ball hanging in Space without a flat edge showing at all? Would you take in that new information and change your belief about the Earth and accept that it is round?
This is the basic question about ‘evolve or not.’ If you can be presented with new evidence, if you are open to new ideas, if you are willing to consider that you might have to change your mind based on new data, then would you be willing to have the conversations that might open you up?
Evolution isn’t about the monkeys. It’s really about the Evolution of Human Consciousness. In order to evolve, we must first Wake Up!
I Ching Gua for the New Moon and New Wood Horse Year: Tai-Advance!
I love my new “habit” of casting an I Ching Gua just after the new moon of every month (moonth). And with this new moon that we experienced yesterday (4:38 pm Eastern time), the new moon in Aquarius, we also ushered in the Lunar New Year, the Chinese New Year which is the year of the Wood Horse. What better time to do a divination using the I Ching and the yarrow stalks I manipulate to cast a Gua or six-line hexagram to help sense the energies coming in to support our journeys?
And I am very excited by the Gua I cast. It is pictured here as three solid, yang lines on the bottom, the trigram for Heaven, and three broken, yin lines on the top, the trigram for Earth.
The Chinese word, Tai, is very auspicious. In fact Alfred Huang, author of The Complete I Ching writes: “Tai is one of the most auspicious words in the Chinese language.” It has many meanings, including peace, safety, security and good health. It originally meant “more than” or “most.” It indicates the condition of being “more than great.” Master Huang chose the meaning “advance” for Tai. The image he paints from the ideograph for Tai is one of “running water proceeding forward smoothly and with great ease.”
There were no changing lines in this Gua. Sometimes this can be inauspicious indicating stagnation in the energy. In this case I think what it means is we can expect the energy of advancement in a peaceful way for the entire year! It is a Wood Horse year after all with lots of energy coming to us for strong support.
Another indication that this Gua extends for the entire year is that it is a “tidal” Gua, which means it is associated with a particular lunar month of the year, the first month; in other words the exact month for which I cast it! Not only is the Gua itself auspicious, it is in an auspicious place, its natural place, for the year.
There is also a strong meaning of cooperation held in this Gua. Heaven, the lower trigram seems to be in the opposite place, below Earth, the upper trigram. The meaning here is that Heaven and Earth are working together to support humanity, just as Horse and Human work together for great productivity, advancement!
This energy is already beginning to play out in my life. Last weekend Rosemary held her first annual Possibilities Playshop, a gathering to create a guide book for the lunar 2014. She and I worked together to conduct and video the Playshop so we could share it with people who couldn’t attend in person. It was a great success and people who did attend gained great benefit, clearing blocks, gaining a guide for the year and laying out the lunar year, all 13 moonths, beginning with today. We are letting the moon energy guide us through the year!
And with this tremendously auspicious Gua, I am ready for a fantastic year!
Do you feel this “advancing” energy?
Men and The Goddess 