Annual Hexagrams

The year will soon come to a close and many would reminisce whether 2005 was a good year and hope that next year could turn out better. As the saying goes, hope springs eternal and is the mother of all men. Invariably some will consult fortune tellers of various kinds to see what lies ahead in 2006 to satisfy their curiosity and the consultation can turn into a costly yearly affair depending on the accuracy and prediction skills of the fortune teller concerned. Those who can afford it will pay while others seek out the less expensive ones. Some good fortune tellers in the East may limit the number of readings made available to clients in order to read for their family members and themselves.

Those who read the Yi and also divine are fortunate since they can consult the Yi for a reading of their fortune for 2006 if they so wish to. My first such consultation was way back in 1981 for friends and relatives since it was in vogue. After asking the Yi for my own annual hexagrams in 1982 and 1983, I stopped. As the oracles became more accurate over time, one restarted the consultation for an annual hexagram in 1990. It has been a yearly affair ever since.

A good example of annual hexagrams given by the Yi was in 1997 before the Asian Financial Crisis struck in August/September that year. The oracle came in the form of Hexagram 58 Dui / The Joyous with the fourth and fifth lines changing and a resultant Hexagram 19 Lin / Approach.

The Judgment for Dui:
The Joyous. Success. Perseverance is favorable.

Nine in the fourth place means:
Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of the mistake a man has joy.

Nine in the fifth place means:
Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.

The Judgment for Lin:
Approach has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eight month comes, there will be misfortune. [W/B]

Reading the changing lines and the judgment for Lin will suffice for this entry. The eighth month signified August/September when the Thai Baht was dumped which triggered panic across the whole of Asia resulting in a financial meltdown.

The example provided is to show that the Yi can still foretell things that will unfold during the year in question, if our interpretation of the oracle is correct. The real difference between fortunes read by a very good fortune teller and the Yi is that the Yi provides guidance on how to avoid or overcome any obstacles in times of trouble and the reasons why. Daoist immortals and deities will also provide such guidance if they want to help a mortal, but it would be unusual for them to give the reasons because they cannot reveal Heaven’s secrets on the mortal’s fate. You have to take their word for it.

Just in case after reading this entry, you may wish to consult the Yi for an annual hexagram, do not do it now or immediately after January 1st. There is no need to be fashionable and follow the Yi crowd in your part of the world who does it in December or early January. From experience, the best time one suggests for such consultation is during the first fifteen days of Chinese New Year. The first day of Chinese New Year happens to fall on January 29 2006. Good luck.