Mingyi :: Pheasant Call

Auspicious: even in hardship

明夷

䷣

6 :: first

A pheasant flies and drops. Traveling three days without food. Secret words.¹

Be prepared. Conserve resources and lay the groundwork with care. Even a small matter (short flight) needs preparation.

9 :: second

A pheasant's left wing wounded. A gelded horse. Auspicious.

You experience a setback at the start. Difficulties that arise this early are minor. Your limitations (gelded horse) are, in the long run, advantageous.

6 :: third

Pheasant hunt in the south. Wound the opponent. Fast changes are unstable.

You are quick and decisive. When seeking change (south), revolution (wound-ing) may be required. Once you have usurped power, don't become lax. You must reestablish stability. Do not remove a despot, only to become one your-self. Do not over-treat an illness.

9 :: fourth

Ritually extracting a pheasant heart from the left flank. Returning home.

You possess a unique and fleeting window of opportunity to do exactly the right thing-and win! Seize the moment! Make a precise and quick move and then immediately get back to normal (return home).

9 :: fifth

A pheasant call like Ji Zi.² Auspicious.

You are in an awkward situation. When you speak the truth you take risks. You should not expect praise or a quick result when you must speak the truth to a domineering or belligerent superior. Honesty is important; but do not expect a miracle.

6 :: top

No pheasant call. It flies to the sky, then sinks below the sea.

You miss a unique opportunity. No omens appear (silence). The situation is beyond your control and you are lost in a larger cycle of events.3

Image

In an early form of birdsong divination the voice of the pheasant meant "no response" or "do not respond." It is, however, not a negative omen. This lack of response is a first step in the downfall of what is false and hardened. Mingyi is when knowledge and wisdom are ignored or eclipsed. It describes the plight of a heroic subordinate trying to reform a doltish leader. It is about how new clarity initiates the overthrow of old and obsolete habits.

Auspices

When integrity demands action, be cautious and prepared to fail. The situation is unfavorable because, the clear warnings of doom are being ignored by the powerful.

Good for elopement, revolution, lawsuits, and small gains.

Bad for postponement, travel, making your case, equivocating, and fantasizing.

Comment

Hexagram 36 is the opposite of 35. In 35 what is right makes easy advance, here right is covered over and/or ignored. Ignored, in this case, does not mean powerless.

This hexagram is about how protocols of power work. Protocols can be used to subordinate inferiors and unseat rulers. In this case, a subordinate can use the protocols of power to revolt and get rid of the darkness of an oppressor. Chinese Confucianists would later call the righteous cosmic power of revolt the Mandate of Heaven.

For the Confucian commentators, the story of Ji Zi upholds the notion that the reward for integrity is simply having integrity, not necessarily getting your way.

Other Correspondences

Business: Quitting your job, cashing out at a loss, troubled by unseen costs, and labor strikes.

Disharmonies: Injury, misdiagnosis, colon cancer, and psychosomatic illness.

Prognosis: Poor. The patient needs very radical treatment and/or equally radical life-style changes. Radical treatment could cause fatality.