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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!
How Do You Do Intuition?
In yesterday’s post I commented on an article by Rosemary: Success-Based Intuition. But maybe I put the cart before the horse (no reference to Monday’s poem intended!). Do you know how to access your intuition so you can use it for success? I mentioned somewhat humorously that I rely on Rosemary’s gut in important matters. We do share our feelings, especially gut feelings about our unfolding life and partnership. And I am the first to say Rosemary is more attuned to her intuition than most people I know. I also admit that I sometimes struggle with tuning into my own intuitive ability. I have to work at it!
How do I work at it? I had to think about this because our homework assignment for Rosemary’s Unlocking the Mysteries of Intuition class yesterday was to report on how we used intuition through this past week. Here is part of my homework report:
As one example I did get my pendulum out to test a decision. I learned dowsing and the use of a pendulum to help with decision making from Rosemary years ago. In my use this week my pendulum confirmed the decision I was leaning toward, so I made that decision. And I think it was a good one. Another example was a hit I received while writing my “Morning Pages” which I do almost every morning – three hand-written pages following Julia Cameron’s recommendation in her The Artist’s Way. As I look at this one example I realize I frequently get good intuitive hits when I write these pages.
A third example of how I “do intuition” is through the use of card decks of different types, from Tarot to oracle-type decks. I am currently using two decks, the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Dr. Doreen Virtue, and the Aleister Crowley Thoth tarot deck (an interesting balance of light and shadow between these decks!). I draw two cards every morning after my “Pages” to tune into the energies for the day. And I always receive excellent guidance.
But these are technologies or aids in tuning in. There is a more fundamental part of this intuitive process. And this is what I wrote in my pages yesterday:
These [intuitive] flashes come to me when I am at ease, breathing, present and open. They aren’t forced. They aren’t thoughts or ideas, really. They don’t come from the ego. They come when I care. They come when I am feeling at peace, in grace. In this sense they are natural, instinctual but much more than animalistic. There is a higher consciousness to them.
And it is true they can only come from love. And this self-love is a mysterious thing. It, again, is not the ego. It is much higher. It approaches Self-Love. It is a loving state rather than a narcissistic self-love state of the ego. This is a key point, a key distinction. There is an at-one-ment to this love. This cycles back to atonement – forgiveness – grace. There is an inner sense of groundedness that gives rise to gut feelings. Again, it is a natural place of higher consciousness. It comes when there is a deep connection within, to that which is below and that which is above!
Intuition is a hard thing to grab hold of. But I think we all know what gut feelings are. The trick is to tune in, trust, then follow. It takes practice. We all can do it, even us guys!

PS: Do you want to see a Master Intuitive at work? Are you looking for answers? Inspiration? Every 3rd Saturday of the month, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, Rosemary hosts Satsang for all who would join her in the exploration of expanding consciousness. Here is your chance to ask questions of The Divine Feminine! This event can be attended in person and online using video-conferencing services, even a phone. Attend from anywhere in the world!
Get more information and sign up here The next Satsang with Rosemary is tomorrow, November 16 at 7:00 pm Eastern.





