Ge :: Molting

On the sacrifice day use captives :: Supreme offering : auspicious : trouble disappears

革

䷰

On the sacrifice day use captives :: Supreme offering : auspicious : trouble disappears

6 ::

first

1^st

Bound with the skin of yellow ox.

You are held back. A new and splendid situation arises but you are not yet able to enjoy it. Wait.

9 ::

second

2^nd

On the sacrifice day, the skin molts. Military expeditions succeed.

You are growing into a new and powerful situation. Progress is based on letting go of old and inappropriate habits (molting). The shaman empties her heart, transforms, and enters deep trance. Revolutionary troops enter the capital with confidence.

6 ::

third

3^rd

Military expeditions succeed. Danger. Three skins.

Review, recalculate, and divine the auspices (three skins) before moving on. Hesitation reduces risk and ultimately brings success. The dance and chants of the shaman are hypnotically repetitive and precise. Let the enemy surrender and join forces with you.

9 ::

fourth

4^th

Trouble disappears. Changing protocols is auspicious.

You are in a rare situation that allows you to safely restrategize. You may, if you wish, reverse or change goals. The shaman enters an ecstatic trance. When a revolution is completely successful even the basis of power may be changed.

9 ::

fifth

5^th

The great person uses the tiger skin.¹ Make offerings before the divination.

You are in a position of great power over others. Don't be an ogre. You have an opportunity to demonstrate a new and generous protocol of power. Be considerate and divine again to learn about your next move.

6 ::

top

The leader uses a leopard skin. The followers use ordinary leather.
Disastrous to lead military expeditions. It is auspicious to stay home.

You are no longer a revolutionary. You are now a leader who must stabilize the new State. Since new allies surround you, do not try anything too adventurous or ostentatious. Stay put, and cement your alliances.

Image

Ge, though translated molting, gives us three separate but inter-related images. The first image is the ritual skinning of a sacrificial animal-excruciating change. The second image is of a shaman's mask or his/her changing appearance when entering trance--magical change. The third is a revolution-political change. All the images are about dramatic changes, sacrifices, and transformations that release power for renewal.

Auspices

It is a favorable time for dramatic reform and revolution-night becoming day. If you are ready to accept serious change and ready to let go of the past, everything is favorable. If you fear change, Ge denotes the painful torment of unsuccessful resistance.

Good for marriage, travel, meditation retreat, immigration, changing jobs, and moving home.

Bad for postponement and equivocation.

Comment

Ge tells us that change, the subject of this text, is sometimes raw, internal and stormy. When intense transformation starts, the outcome relies on our ability to let go and experience metamorphosis. Can you make the necessary sacrifices and embrace the new you? Can you make a home of wherever you wash ashore after the storm?

This hexagram denotes change that breaks with continuity and security. Sometimes change is sudden and overwhelming but, divining Ge, we can expect to survive and be powerfully transformed by the demands of the journey.

Other Correspondences

Business: New ventures, new directions, and creating a new image or logo.

Disharmonies: Pediatric diseases, coronary thrombosis, burns, curses, poison-ing, tropical diseases, and delirium.

Prognosis: Poor. The patient's life is threatened. There is the possibility of fatality or deformity. Recovery, if it happens, will be dramatic and transformative.