And thus begins the Year of the Snake: the new moon of January 29 2025 (7:26am USA ET) rings in the Asian New Year, replete with a planetary alignment visible in the dark night sky.
There are times when the I Ching messages associated with these lunar months feels spot on; other times, it’s harder to see the immediate connection. For this new moon that brings us into the month of hexagram 11, Peace, it is lines 2 and 3 that resonate most strongly for me today.
From the classic Wilhelm/Baynes translation:
Nine in the second place means:
“Bearing with the uncultured in gentleness,
Fording the river with resolution,
Not neglecting what is distant,
Not regarding one’s companions:
Thus one may manage to walk in the middle.
“In times of prosperity it is important above all to
possess enough greatness of soul to bear with imperfect people. For in the hands of a great master no material is unproductive; [they] can find use for everything. But this generosity is by no means laxity or weakness. It is during times of prosperity especially that we must always be ready to risk even dangerous undertakings, such as the crossing of a river, if they are necessary. So too we must not neglect what is distant but must attend scrupulously to everything.
“Factionalism and the dominance of cliques are especially to be avoided. Even if people of like mind come forward together, they ought not to form a faction by holding together for mutual advantage; instead, each [person] should do [their] duty. These are four ways in which one can overcome the hidden danger of a gradual slackening that always lurks in any time of peace. And that is how one finds the middle way for action.”
Nine in the third place means:
“No plain not followed by a slope.
No going not followed by a return.
He who remains persevering in danger is without blame.
Do not complain about this truth;
Enjoy the good fortune you still possess.
“Everything on earth is subject to change. Prosperity is followed by decline: this is the eternal law on earth. Evil can indeed be held in check but not permanently abolished. It always returns. This conviction might induct melancholy, but it should not; it ought only to keep us from falling into illusion when good fortune comes to us. If we continue mindful of the danger, we remain persevering and make no mistakes. As long as a [person’s] inner nature remains stronger and richer than anything offered by external fortune, as long as [they] remain inwardly superior to fate, fortune will not desert [them].”
🙏🏼
