Bo :: Erosion

Inauspicious :: No advance

剝

䷖

Inauspicious :: No advance

6 ::

first

1^st

A leg of the chair breaks off. It is inauspicious to go forward.

You have lost the balance and support you need to go forward. The underpinnings of the situation have collapsed. This is an early warning to stop.

9 ::

second

2^nd

The seat of the chair collapses. It is inauspicious to go forward.

This is a second warning to stop. You are unseated as a result of a miscalculation or misconduct. An opportunity has been lost. Do not go forward.

6 ::

third

3^rd

Erosion. No misfortune.

You are naked-stripped of power and position. You are humiliated and obstructed but, in this case, your inability to advance provides safety. There is a chance to cut your losses and survive.

9 ::

fourth

4^th

Flayed skin. Inauspicious.

The situation erodes from bad to worse. The naked form is flayed. You are absurdly overextended and nearing total disaster. Your own ambition is the basis of all your torment.

9 ::

fifth

5^th

A string of dried fish. Favorite concubines file into the palace. Auspicious.

You can make the best of a bad situation. Despite having lost much and been taken prisoner, you are treated well and given a choice. Safety and small gains are yours, despite the miscalculations and misconduct.

6 ::

top

Ripe fruit is not eaten. The prince obtains chariots.
Small people are stripped of their huts.

Those who have power, in this case, have easy access to more power (chariots). Those who have no power, and ambitiously misconduct themselves, are further demoted (stripped of their meager homes). Ripe fruit means eminence, which is a rarity for a peasant (small people), but taken for granted by the powerful (prince).

Image

Bo describes the failure of aggressive and ambitious people to usurp power. It is a bollixed attempt to change an existing power structure. Bo shows an erosion process-the descent of a small ambitious person into failure, humiliation, and imprisonment. The top (yang) line shows the unaltered seat of power-a symbol of immutable eminence.

Auspices

Extremely unfavorable to go forward. If you do, you will meet with a crushing and ignominious defeat. Listen to the early warnings and stop-abandon your idealism and fanatical ambition or be stripped of all rank.

Good for retreat, postponement, self-reflection, and abandoning fantasies.

Bad for marriage, travel and forward progress, or ambition of any kind.

Comment

History has recorded many failed revolutions. Bad timing or inappropriate (selfish) motive has undermined many attempts to restructure the powers that be. If you wish to revolt, do not be blinded by idealism, choose the time wisely, be just, and of impeccable virtue. Remember that leadership and eminence are matters of fate.

Other Correspondences

Business: Resignation, selling at a loss, and bankruptcy.

Disharmonies: Violent accident (injury), sexually transmitted disease, tubercu-losis, and cancer.

Prognosis: Very Poor. The patient is diagnosed or treated too late and suffers a quick decline. Treatment could lead to a fatality.