Hexagram 13 changing to 30: Fellowship to The Clinging

Where it starts: 13 Fellowship

Open fellowship in the open: union built on a shared purpose rather than a shared clique. Fire below, heaven above: flame rising toward the sky it belongs to. Fellowship describes people joining around something larger than any of them, in the open, without secret factions. The tradition's judgement favours it strongly, including for large undertakings, and it adds the condition: the fellowship must be led by someone principled and it must be public. The reading asks what unites the people involved. If it is a genuine common cause, the union has great strength; if it is a private interest dressed up as a cause, the later lines show what happens.

Where it goes: 30 The Clinging

Fire that burns by clinging to what feeds it: clarity, dependence and the care of a cow. Fire below, fire above: light doubled, the sun rising twice. The Clinging is the hexagram of clarity and of dependence: fire is bright, and fire exists only by holding onto what it burns. The tradition's judgement is that persistence furthers and that caring for the cow brings good fortune, the cow being docility, the receptive quality that lets brightness endure without consuming everything. The reading says you have, or need, clarity, and that clarity survives by attaching itself to something sound and by not flaring too hot. Illumination that forgets what it depends on burns out.

The lines that move

1. Line 5

   Fellowship: first weeping and lamenting, then laughter. After great struggles they meet.

   Two people who belong together are separated by obstacles and, after real difficulty, reunited. The line honours a bond that survives separation. The tears are real and so is the laughter. Persist through the separation; the meeting comes after the struggle.

What is changing. The situation of Fellowship is moving toward The Clinging. Join around a real common purpose, in the open, under principled leadership. As the change completes: Keep your light steady by tending what it depends on.

love and relationships

Now: Partnership founded on shared values and conducted openly. Secrets and private alliances, with friends or family, are the risk the hexagram names. Be together in the open and for the same reasons. Then: Attachment is the theme, and the reading is not against it: fire must cling to something. Ask what you are clinging to and whether it can sustain you. Warmth that is steady and cared for lasts; passion that flares and consumes does not.

career

Now: A team, collaboration or public venture with a clear common goal. The reading supports it, and supports crossing the great water, meaning a large undertaking. Keep it transparent and keep factions out. Then: Clarity of thought and the ability to make things visible to others. Attach yourself to sound work and sound people. The reading warns against brilliance that burns through its own resources and against restlessness dressed as insight.

money

Now: Shared enterprise works when the purpose is shared and the terms are open. Beware of arrangements that benefit an inner circle at the expense of the whole; they break. Then: Be clear-eyed about what you depend on. Income that clings to a stable source lasts; a flare of gain that consumes its own fuel does not. Care for the cow: tend the steady thing.

decisions

Now: Decide with the group, in the open, for a purpose everyone can name. The option that requires a private deal or a hidden side is the one to reject. Then: Decide with clarity, and choose the option that keeps you attached to something that can feed you. The bright, dramatic choice that has nothing to cling to burns out.