The Holidays

Hunger :

I hope to post at length about the Holidays this year, but I wanted to share this little string which sums up how I was experiencing yesterday's New Year's Eve party, and festivities with my extended family in general :

"Like a starving man viewing a lavish dinner through a plexiglass window."

My friend Rainbowgrl (see comments section below) was surprised by the statement above; she knew I was included in, and enjoyed thoroughly, all the various family events.

I explained to her that the glimpses of joy, fulfillment, and conviviality which I had through this Holiday season, and they were many, awakened in my heart a deep yearning for love, fearless union with others, and a satisfying marriage. I was surprised at the depths of the hunger.

The Abysmal (changing) :

After 1200 on New Year's Eve (so, on New year's morning actually), the Gregorys rolled an I-Ching to give us some guidance for the coming year. Each sibling rolled one line, then David rolled the last, as Taliesin was not present.

The hexagram received was The Abysmal/Danger. It had a number of changing lines, turning into The Taming Power of the Small. The general sense was that we will progress out of danger and difficulty, but not into a situation of dramatic energy release or great success. Instead, a period of small accumulation is to come, wherein the major prescribed effort is the cultivation of character. The text of the most significant moving line is below :

"Six in the third place means : Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause first and wait, otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act in this way."

"Here every step, forward or backward, leads into danger. Escape is out of the question. Therefore we must not be misled into action, as a result of which we should only bog down deeper in the danger; disagreeable as it may be to remain in such a sitution, we must wait until a way out shows itself."

After the general hexagram, numerous guests rolled individual hexagrams relating to their own private concerns. On the whole the outlook is extremely favorable, with the dramatic exception of Rohan. I believe he received Conflict leading to Exhaustion.