Tag Archives: Hexagram #28

Chuck’s Place: Waiting

Storm clouds are gathering…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Today, I consult the I Ching with the following: Please provide guidance to navigate the energy of now.

Hexagram #5, Waiting, with moving lines in the first and fourth places, with a future of hexagram #28, Preponderance of the Great, is my answer.

The image of Waiting is water gathering in the sky, a picture of clouds filling with moisture. The obvious inference is, waiting for rain. This can only happen when the clouds have accrued enough density and are thus ready to release their bounty.

Applied to human circumstance, don’t try to push the river. The forces at work here, particularly in nature, are operating on their own schedule.

The moving line in the first place suggests that at present conditions are calm, the impending concern is still at a distance. The guidance suggests that one not exhaust one’s energetic reserves in advance, as this might weaken one’s ability to respond when it truly is time to act.

At the moving line in the fourth place, the storm has arrived. One finds oneself in quite a dangerous, precarious position. The guidance here is to stand fast, to allow fate to take its natural course. By embracing this composure, one is likely to not worsen the situation and, as a result, find the best way out.

The pending danger is more vividly expressed in the image of hexagram #28, a deeply sagging ridgepole, a roof soon to be caving in. This condition is transitory, as collapse is inevitable.

Thus the notion of a major shift, a revolution, is the inevitable consequence of this set of circumstances. The I Ching cautions that this is not to be achieved through forceful measures. The change is a natural and necessary transition, appropriate to the needs of the time.

In a nutshell, we are presently in a time of waiting. At this moment, the energy of major change is still gathering.

Be calm, remain aware, but don’t tax your energy with too much vigilance. The storm will arrive, a major transition will occur; it is inevitable.

Do not act precipitously. Follow your path of heart, regardless of who follows you.

In calm gratitude for the guidance,

Chuck