What if the problem is, wherever you go, there you are? What do you do when wherever you go, you are there with the same concerns, the same problems, the same worries?
Hexagram 47 困 Kun corresponds to the Water Sheep pillar. Since we’re in a Water Sheep month, let’s consider it first in that context. The name can be translated in different ways, but for now it feels right to me to think of Kun as “Beset”.
On top of Hexagram 47 we have 兌 Dui, the youngest daughter. On the bottom is 坎 Kan, the middle son. Lake over Abyss. That’s a lot of Water. Earthquakes and flooding are likely this month, and/or you could say a feeling of instability and strong tides of emotion are rampant. “Alligator Alcatraz” seems related to this hexagram.
Sometimes we cast the coins because we feel at a loss as to how to proceed, or maybe you want to know what to expect so you can prepare. When you’re in that mind state, you likely have concerns that you are headed into a difficult situation.
The hexagram you cast may tell you different, but casting Hexagram 47 will confirm this: you are headed into a difficult situation, and your actions and choices have brought you here. Now you will have to decide what to do about it – or let the chips fall where they may. I usually recommend the former. In my experience, sometimes this hexagram comes up in the context of divorce or breakup, although that outcome is not guaranteed.
If you are going through a loss, or you think you are about to, surely there were prior indications that this outcome was merging with possibility. Maybe ask yourself if this was true, you know, for future reference.
If Hexagram 47 describes your situation, you would have already noticed you’re existing in or even generating the kind of energy that could lead to three years of punishment, isolation, and restriction. Will you be imprisoned? Probably not, but it might feel that way.
Remember that in this world of metaphysics, we’re working with metaphors that mirror our life, and we usually see their meanings through the lens of our preferences. When you remember this, you might realize you could still find a way out of your stuckness, within certain limits. You could step outside of preferences and find some new possibilities. Or you could choose to act based on your preferences and get what you want – or not. Will you take the chance?
If the energy of Kun relates to your current physical or mental state, ask for advice from a trusted source. Look for a spiritual solution such as meditation, prayer or divination. At some of the most scary times of my life, I’ve made some deals with the Universe myself about what I was committed to doing to shape or soften fate. I take that kind of ask very seriously so I don’t do it often. I think we know when the time is right to ask for that kind of assist.
“Kun refers to a deep pit dug on Zhou battlefields to imprison a wild and belligerent, defeated enemy officer. Kun means isolation, oppression and entanglement. For the captive, loss is made repeatedly worse by struggling against the odds.” Liu Ming
The ideograph for Kun 困 shows a tree (wood) trapped in a box. There’s nowhere to grow or go. Wood is meant to move and expand infinitely, but it cannot. Its elemental nature is neutralized.
Kun expresses the limits of every possible human action. Change is always going to come. Acceptance might bring a more positive outcome. Acceptance is not the same as giving up, and forgive me for using a very extreme example, but I think Kun does speak to possibly choosing death as a way of escape, including suicide. Feeling stuck can do that a body. When you let yourself feel the feels, you will pass through this moment into the next. What the next moment brings will be different than now. Kun is also sometimes translated as Distress or Exhaustion which are temporary states regardless of outcome. Don’t forget that.
If you’d like to read the text from the Book of Changes, there’s a PDF of Wu Jing Nuan’s translation available online. The text is the same as the print book. Go to page 191 of the PDF to read the text for Hexagram 47.
The energy of this month will pass, meanwhile I encourage everyone to connect however you can with loved ones, especially if you are feeling trapped, or you know they are feeling trapped. We can gather each other up.
What you have to say or offer now could make a crucial difference in someone else’s life whether you know it or not. Don’t wait for an emergency to show your care. Part of emergency preparation is connecting with people who are important to you when there is no emergency. This will bolster your courage and resolve for the time when the big changes come.
Coincidentally(?) we have two Heavenly Pardoning Days* this month, an unusual opportunity which suggests that asking for forgiveness or giving it might be all you need to do to set the changes in motion – to clear the stuckness. This is best done by invoking ancestors who we might respectfully ask for guidance or amnesty, or perhaps we might be forgiving them and recognizing their intentions. They want resolutions too. The solution might be as simple as that if you’re feeling the energy of Hexagram 47 in your life.
Unpopular opinion: the best solutions are not complicated. Adding complexity might be something like saying no. Adding complexity creates exclusion. When we can’t accept the simple, do we really want change? Or do we just want to move on without changing? Good luck with that. What can you say yes to? This is the way.
*The Heavenly Pardoning Days are Thursday July 24th and Thursday August 7th. If you like to keep track of these things, may I suggest my Monthly Guide?
