H-3

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Hexagram 3

by James Byrd

I. The Oracle 

A. Hexagram Three is related to Difficulty at the Beginning. Another variation would be The idea of a coming together of two people, and the creation of a third, or water above and thunder below, which gives rise to wet weather and thunderstorms during this lapse of the year. Let us not forget The Three Wise Men, and there is Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
The main Idea is, I am looking at this particular hexagram on My Calendar of Days, a lot of Credence folks. I have taken the first step and, we are getting there.

   1. Now is a good time to reinforce your current position, do not seek any new goals or destinations at this time, the keyword is consolidation. Again, Difficulty at the Beginning, determination, and persistence promises great success, hence you might give out, but do not give up. Keep your focus on your desired oasis.
   2. Difficulty, stoppings and goings, we will eventually get there

B. The Image

  1. Water over Thunder
      a) Check your bearing before moving towards your planned destination, stay with the Tried and True
      b) Thus hold to your plan do not become fickle or haphazard about your personal goals, stay true to your Golden Mean

II. My interpretation 

A. The difficulty at the Beginning has more to do with when two people connect they will indeed create a third person, a hybrid. The relationship is a slow process, which entails difficulty at the beginning thereby lending to the desired effect of the empty-nest outcome.
So with this image, we see a child is born, learns how to walk, adapts to social patterns of his or her proximity, finishes colleges and completes that pattern, ideally, that is what is hoped for. With this we can also see that the dangerous time is during the hour just before birth, a number of things could go wrong.
Difficulty followed by sublime success, that is if one stays on a righteous path, such as from the crib to college, and completes the cycle. Between the two extremes, there is a decision process, the righteous course/path brings just rewards.

   1. Once again, now is not a good time to proceed in a different direction other than the planed, revision is ok, but a complete overhaul of your plans is not warranted at this time.In another sense we might see Retrenchment, meaning hold your horses as you might want to get a good bearing on which direction the oasis you are seeking is, with confidence, located, that oasis will hold the lifesaving water for your horses/means for the furtherance of your strategic goals. Do not be fooled by the distant cloud behind you as you progress. And again, it is not an auspicious time to advance forward at the moment, we are somewhat sprouting at this time, and we need also at this time to wait and appoint help. At this stage of the game do not force things to a premature completion, find a means to maintain and fortify your current position, even if it calls for waiting for that rain cloud behind us to catch up. The Manager, knows when to halt, such as did the Three Wise Men. Three Wise Men came to the end of their journey to ensure that a Greater Wise Man should fare well on his difficult journey step by step as he starts to bring order out of confusion within this world of Thisness.

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References Huang, Kerson and Rosemary (1987). I Ching
Karcher, S. and Ritesema, R. (1995). I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change [The First Complete Translation with Concordance]
Legge, James (2012). The I Ching: The Book of Changes (Sacred Books of China: The Book of Changes)
Reifler, S. (1974) I Ching: The World's Oldest and Most Revered System of Fotune Telling
Van Over, R. (1971), i ching
Wilhelm, R. and Baynes. C.F. (1967). The I Ching, or, Book of Changes (Bollingen Series XIX)
Wilhelm, Hellmut and Richard Wilhelm (1995). Understanding the I Ching

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