Is there such a thing as ultimate truth? Is truth an end in itself? These are things you might think about when it’s a Snake month in a Snake year.
The ancient Greek concept of ἀλήθεια (aletheia) implies that truth, meaning reality, is the antonym of forgetting; truth is a state of being unhidden or unforgotten. Martin Heidegger, a philosopher, took this concept further to describe ἀλήθεια as a process of revelation: reality is the process of revealing truth. It happens through actions, not words alone. Whoa.
As for me, I think that the truth keeps changing, that is, I haven’t found any truths that apply to every situation, except that caring matters. How about you?
If you have a Snake in your Ba Zi, this might be a good time to revisit the 2025 Animal Fortune for the sign of Snake.
It’s a Metal Snake month in a Wood Snake year. I’ve got my mind on the 巳 and the 巳 on my mind. I am thinking about Snake matters, mostly about Truth and the role of Truth as something that can heal if it’s given in the proper dosage. There’s an overdose of truth happening in the world right now. It feels poisonous – but could it literally be a homeopathic remedy? I don’t mean to be callous, however, I see what is happening now as a normal process in the cycles of time and space. Don’t take that to mean that I prefer it. Do take it to mean I will try to learn from it.
All of the things we were worried about happening…now we know in detail how they are happening, and yet not everyone agrees about what is true, or does with the truth what you would expect. Life has always been like this but until it’s the leopard eating our own face, most of us seem incapable of believing in evil even when we see it or live with it on a daily basis. We don’t expect evil for the most part.
I say evil, because it feels evil in the way that evil doesn’t particularly care about or favor anyone. Evil is an equal opportunity experience and some of us are luckier than others.
You could say the same thing about the Tao too though. I don’t think the Tao cares about or particularly favors anyone either. Caring (or hating) is human business and some of us are luckier than others.
Teaching and Truth
I once asked one of my teachers if the Tidal Guas were tied to the lunar month, as opposed to the solar month. It seemed pretty obvious to me that just by being called a Tidal Gua, it would be tied to the Moon, not the Sun. My teacher said that I was incorrect but mostly I think they were just tired of me. I wasn’t completely buying that I was wrong, but I decided not to push back.
In addition, I doubted myself and what logic dictated was true; a pattern to which I am prone. I can’t even count how many times I have held myself back from freedom by doing this. The worst instance of this happened in late 2019/early 2020. I’m not blaming anyone. I have gotten better realizing no one can limit me, but at my worst, I don’t require anyone to hold me back because I do it best.
Now I am a teacher and I understand how it’s not always easy to be graceful when people don’t appreciate how much time and effort you’ve put into your preparation for their exasperation. I think of a student’s exasperation and frustration (which I have also experienced) as part of the learning process. There is a magical point in any process where you can surrender to failure and not give up. If you do that once, you are more likely to do it again. You are more likely to continue in your studies or other efforts.
In my life, when I’m not paying attention to how much truth I’m dealing out or my attitude about it, I’m usually about to be the recipient of some misdirected anger. I feel that I don’t ask for that (who does?), however, I must have a role in this repeating pattern. It’s probably that my appearance of certainty is triggering for some because they want to fight and I am not ready to fight.
I don’t feel like I need to prove the truth and I can see how that would be perceived as arrogant. Coming off as arrogant is also a fundamental mistake and theme of my life. I don’t think it’s arrogant to assume that once people know the truth they will change what they are doing, however, I will admit that is usually not what happens. It’s baffling.
I annoy people by pointing out things that I think are obvious, not realizing that it’s not obvious to them. Some people call my habit of doing this rebellious. I don’t disagree, but I think that’s how the truth feels – like a revolution. I have learned to be better at recognizing what is not obvious to others, even though it’s still baffling to me that it’s not.
As I said, I have lots to learn too. I am too quick with the truth – too quick for anyone’s comfort and often too quick in the sense of time. There have been times I wanted to use truth as a weapon, sometimes to defend or explain myself. I have done all of these things.
If you tell people the truth too soon, they might want to hurt or suppress you. At the very least they want to ignore you. If you have this experience as a child, I encourage you to explore your idea that the truth is problematic. Is it problematic for you or do others perceive you that way due to their discomfort? There were many lessons I learned about truth telling as a child that upon reexamination, did not have anything to do with truth. I’m still unlearning. It’s a process.
Denial is the most common way we shield ourselves, so stay open if you want relationships. When we can’t acknowledge the truth, it’s hard to have relationships that last. Without truth there are problems that cannot be solved. Common truths lay the foundation for trust and intimacy.
Metal Snake Month Hexagrams
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If you agree that the Tidal Gua is related to the lunar month and the Moon, then Hexagram 1, being the Tidal Gua, matches with the lunar month Metal Snake. Hexagram 14 matches with the solar month of Metal Snake.
Would you agree that Hexagram 1 is giving us a yin perspective? If the Month Pillar Hexagrams are related to the solar month and the Sun, would you agree that they give a yang perspective?
Obviously, you don’t have to agree to any of this but if you do, it certainly makes for an interesting divination this month. Yin could be matters that are hard to look at or control; underlying causes perhaps, while the yang would be a response to that? Yin: patriarchy has gone overboard. Yang: the nature of wealth is to recirculate.
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