Hexagram 51 Zhen / The Arousing

Zhen formed the middle given name of my late father and Zhen represent his position as the eldest son in the family. His younger brother’s middle name is Tian (Heaven). Perhaps my grandfather knew something about the Yi, but he died of illness when my father was just a kid. While we still keep his portrait photo, not much was known about him. He was a silversmith in China and had migrated to Malaya where he met and married my grandmother. (Think of Marriages made in Heaven.)

Zhen means the arousing; shock and the trigram attributes represent thunder, the eldest son, and wood among other things. While this was discussed a few years ago in the I Ching Community forum, if we obtain the hexagram through divination, depending on the diviner, it can also indicate forthcoming earthquakes. And to me, it provides a credible and discernable test on whether the Yi really talks to a diviner or not.

After the Yi had answered my previous question on an investment (refer recent entry on 54 Gui Mei), I had asked about another share investment. The prognostication given this time was an unchanging hexagram 51 Zhen. Yes, perhaps right. A shock can bring success to the lethargic share market where the low liners have drifted lower since one sold all my share investments in Mid July. Some had fallen by more than 60%. And based on experience, Zhen is a better hexagram than Gui Mei for an investment in shares.

The Judgment:
Shock brings success. Shock comes—oh,oh! Laughing words—ha,ha! The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.

The shock that comes from the manifestation of God within the depths of the earth makes a man afraid, but this fear of God is good, for joy and merriment can follow upon it. When a man has learned within his heart what fear and trembling mean, he is safeguarded against any terror produced by outside influences. [W/B]

In case you may have missed it, the commentary makes reference to earthquakes – the manifestation of God within the depths of earth makes a man afraid.

A few days after the prognostication: there were several thunderstorms in my area; an earthquake the size of Richter scale 6+ hit Taiwan without causing much damage. A powerful earthquake with a magnitude 6.77 struck under the Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea on September 01. In such times, earthquake prone countries should closely monitor earth movements, to safeguard their people and assets. Readers who live near earthquake prone areas, like say California, Japan and Indonesia, could also take some extra precautions by keeping in touch with up to date news and the meteorological forecasts.

Meanwhile the shares one had started to invest in fell heavily all of a sudden (which provided a shock) because of a minor infringement of the listing requirements. The share price has fallen by 50% from its high in mid July. And I had bought more of the shares at current depressed prices. Let us see whether the Yi is right about the success part, if you cannot foresee the outcome already.

Once again, I wait cheerfully for the expected results arising from this investment.