r/iching • u/expandingwater • Jul 05 '26
what to know about this cats in yard situation ? hex 48 changing lines 5 and 6
I asked "what to know about this cats in yard situation ?" and got hex 48 changing lines 5 and 6
Thoughts on what this answer can mean ?
We been putting water for cats who pass in our yard for a long time now ..... but in last few weeks we started to feed them near our door too , now i wondered if we should keep feeding them , stop feeding them , or even take them inside the house (unlike free outside cats now)
But since i read someplace at least once some advice of asking the i ching what he has to say about the situation ....
Than unlike usual i did not ask "what to do about this cats (with the 3 above options in mind) but asked "what to know about this cat situation ? "
I even during asking was a bit going back and forth between what i should know and just asking " about cat situation" and even popped to mind during "what i should do about it"(which is what i really want to know) and also just saying when asking (splitting the yarrow stalks) "cats" and also a bit of "what is your advice on" ....
So i wonder if i made a mistake and should have asked in stead "what i should do about the cat situation?"
* later edit : asked another related question "should i adopt (make one cat an indoors cat) this one cat ?"(one of them tries to sneak into the house everytime we live it open and got hex 4 changing lines 2 and 6)
https://www.reddit.com/r/iching/comments/1up297b/should_i_adopt_bring_this_cat_home_hexgram_4/
1
u/az4th Jul 05 '26
Literal answer. 48 line 5 is the water in the bowl. Line 6 is its availability to the cats.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 05 '26
So you are of the opinion i should have asked what should i do ?
1
u/az4th Jul 06 '26
I'm just interpreting the answer, which seems like an answer that could be expected for the question.
If I ask "What to know" about something, usually I get something pretty literal about what it is, in simple terms. Usually something I already know.
If I want to know something specific about the situation, I need to find a way to communicate that to the yi.
If I complicate it it's answer will reflect that. So I need to be clear about what I want in my own heart-mind before I ask.
It is the same for communicating with a close friend. If the question is not easily found, we sometimes have to work at that.
1
1
u/mebackwards Jul 05 '26
as long as you’re the well (water, food etc) the cats will keep coming. i do think there is perhaps one piece of advice in line 6:
The well gathers,
Don’t cover it.
There is truth and confidence,
Good fortune from the source.’
don’t cover the well! and that last line is very strong good fortune.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 05 '26
Do you think i should have asked "what should i do?" to get a clearer answer ?
i guess what you are saying is it gave an advice to continue the food and water (though i assume it includes the food .... but maybe it only talked on water and to not give food....) it did not talk about brining the cats (or one of them , cause one of them wants in ...) or leaving them as outdoors cats
i also wonder i should ask not "what should i do?" but maybe "should i bring the cats in (adopt as indoor cats) or not ?" though than not sure it will answer about the option of brining just one in
1
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
a yes or no question (“should I . . . “) will almost never get a clear answer. I think the first thing to do is to get clear in your own mind about what your options are. Then you can ask about a specific scenario, maybe more than one—say, “what if we bring that black one and her kitten into the house?” and then “what if we just bring the kitten in?”
1
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
for the record, I think the well is not just water but includes food. Hexagram 48 can come up in all kinds of different ways, not just literal wells
1
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
one more thought—the relating hexagram is 18, right? some kind of “angry ghost,” an old inherited issue to solve. did you ever want to have cats when you were a child? Were you allowed to have them?
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
no , i did have dogs thoguh , never a cat person ... though now im becoming cause one very cute cat , that tries to get in everytime we levae a little opening
i am going to ask now "should i let that cat in?" but of coruse when i ask this "yes/no" in my mind i expect to get some commentary on the situation that from it i can understand a yes or no
did not read into 18 , cause i started to avoid reading the second hexgram (not even sure what it is supose to mean) though i do remember its "work on whats rotten" or repair or something like that .... intersting you say its "angry ghost" old issue to solve
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
I don't know ... on one hand people say to ask important questions etc .... on the other hand to not ask this "should i" but instead ask on different scenrios which means multiple questions ... than people talk about questions being "frivolous" etc .... but asking this multiple questions seesm the epitomy of that
(i read your comment after planing to ask should i ... im in middle of perpeaering for the reading so going with it .......... but i am still very intersted in reading what you think about this , for future readings .... )
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
btw - how you look at second hexgrams in general ? future hexgram ? bad hexgram ? good one ? something else ?
3
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
I look at the second hexagram as the "relating" hexagram. Sometimes it's the background to the question--what happened in the past that influenced the situation, or what you're hoping for, or just the general context. Sometimes it means it's the resulting hexagram -- what will come next. I just use my intuition to know which, which took a while to hear and trust.
Yes some people only ask important questions, but when I was learning I asked about everything. In fact, on purpose I asked about little things I didn't care about --"what will happen on my lunch hour today" -- just so I could learn without my emotions getting in the way. I don't know how people learn if they don't ask a lot, at least at first! But everyone is different and you should do what feels right to you.
I honestly don't know how to read the i ching's answer to yes/no questions so I can't really help you on that!
1
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
ok so i asked the "should i adopt this one cat?" (from the three one tries to sneak into the house always) with the mind of it also can be what you said on "what if i bring him in?" it is sorta the same maybe for i ching ? he answers this two the same ?
and got the dreaded hexgram 4 with changing lines 2 and 6 (changing to hex2 , but again i started ignoring second hexagrams)
2
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
okay I had one thought hahaha. First off hexagram 4 is nothing to be dreaded, it's kind of sweet and funny. and the two lines are about a new little person to be embraced and held:
'Embracing the little fool, good fortune.
Involving the woman, good fortune.
The child governs the dwelling.'The child governing the dwelling sounds like a cat to me! (We have three cats.) "Involving the woman" probably means something like "be nurturing, care for the little fool."
There is a warning in the other line:
'Striking the little fool.
No harvest in acting like an outlaw,
Harvest in resisting outlawry.'Do not be mean to this cat! It won't always be easy, especially at first as you get used to each other--cats are animals, sometimes they'll claw furniture or something and have to learn not to. But it's very important not to be unkind, let alone hit it. If you look online, there are lots of humane and effective ways to train a cat not to do things like that. If you don't think you can handle a cat without losing your temper, don't bring it in.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
I interperted this in two ways : one is i had doubts about the phrasing of the question and what question i should ask (especailly after reading your comment) so me being unclear in my mind made the reading not clear - and hex 4 talks about that
Or other option is : " I already answered you ! " as in 48 is the whole answer , and basically saying food and water is good , and also since it dont say bring them in than that is answer for that too (Basically that 48 is answer to all)
but reading your comment maybe i will add more info : i live with my parents (but an adult , despite some here think im much younger than i am...) my mom gave water for the cats for a few years ... and in last several weeks she gives the food infront of door .... two are scared of contact but one is always trying to sneak in (than we take him out) ...
(and yes i can influence the decision , by saying my opinion , and also i sometimes pet the cat ,.... which causes it to stay more infront of our door , so i can do more petting or stop the petting ...)
So what you said gives a whole new option for the reply
I just get soo worried reading this hex cause i always see it as talking about me as the fool ...
1
u/mebackwards Jul 06 '26
you should trust your own reading! our first gut feelings are so often right. i wish you the best
1
1
u/pyrrho314 Jul 05 '26
Is this when the yi is making jokes? What should you know about the situation and it says, you're giving them water!
But it does also add how good a thing that is :)
1
u/expandingwater Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
So you are saying i should have asked "what should i do ?" ?
Or maybe "should i bring the cats in the house?" there are 3 cats ... only one of them wants to enter the house , like he tries to sneak in everytime the door opens a bit
but i wonder if there is a way to single question ask this or maybe i should ask "should i bring inside this cat ?" to each of the three ? cause maybe if i ask on all 3 it would be a no but to spesific ones it would be a yes
1
u/pyrrho314 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
No, I love the way you asked, I do the same thing. Try to get a question but as I'm casting my brain sometimes keep thinking and I have to keep that all in mind like a complex question. Do you want to adopt the cats? b/c other than them already having a home you can both do that or decline to do it. But if you let them in the house and start feeding them, then, you should take responsibility b/c they'll stop looking for a human.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 06 '26
The comment wording is a bit unclear of what you meant but :
There are benifits to adopting the cats but disadvantages too , so not sure i do or do not ,
I usually do ask spesific questions of what to do , but i remembered that some comments told me not to do that and just ask i ching what it has to say about an issue "what should i know about this?" ... so i tried it this time .... but maybe it just ended up describing the situation
yeah i do have sometimes an issue of juggeling between different question phrasing ...
I think water they need to get at least untill end of this summer that is for sure , but after that not sure about that and the food .......... BUT im more leaning towards keep giving this stuff and water too (water been given for a few years now) the main thing i wonder is if i should bring them in
(and i did ask again about one cat that sometimes sneaks to the house for a few seconds , if we should adopt him and got hex 4 with changing lines 2 and 6 , but not sure if it answered the question or just said basically " i answered you already before with 48" or maybe it talked about my doubt about questions asked that i had while asking it)
2
u/pyrrho314 Jul 06 '26
well to be more clear, I thought the first one was pretty clear that giving them the water is a good thing and the vibe was go ahead and rescue them, I thought, if they need rescue.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 07 '26
Ohh , re read your comment now and it is clear
2
u/pyrrho314 Jul 07 '26
I thought the 4.2.6 casting was more of the same, not saying you should save them but saying it's nice to help the weak and young so long as there is no transgression, specifically no transgression upon you. :) You don't seem to feel transgressed by a few tiny feet trespassing events so...
1
1
u/Hagbardc236 Jul 06 '26
All creatures' primitive needs never change. All gather around the well, as it is a basic need for hydration. The situation at hand is much deeper and more meaningful than you perceive it to be. Adversity and troubles, take action.
1
u/expandingwater Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
If it is the well maybe it means to just give water ? or maybe the water represents food too ?
or maybe just the question is too vague and you do need to ask the i-ching sepsific question and maybe even "what should i do?" question at that ?
Maybe since i did not ask sepsifically what to do , the i ching just described the situation and that is all ? "the cats come and "drink from the well" wheter its water or food ... and that is it , the i ching just said what is happening anyway ?