The Next Move

It's funny how you can spend time mulling over just about every potential unexpected event that could be, and then get walloped around the head by something you didn't imagine for a second. Laying in front of the television last night, I started to feel a little anxious. After five minutes, I started to experience the beginnings of a panic attack. It wasn't provoked by anything that I am consciously aware of, but my chest started to feel tight and my breathing began to change. There's card 51 for you. Good old Chen.

The title of today's card is Decline and the hexagram is Ku. The woman lays on the floor, considering whether to pick herself up or not. Her eyes are closed and her hair appears dishevelled. It is now time for her to make decisions and possibly right the wrongs in her past. To my understanding, she either gives in to decay or she chooses to correct a situation which has left her stuck. To be honest, she doesn't look as though she is in a fit state to do anything.

Some of these cards remind me of tarot archetypes. I imagine this is down to all maps of life being similar. Ku is a little like the major tarot card Judgment, where we are advised to make a future step based on a good look into our past. It takes bravery to get up off of the floor at times like this. The woman in this illustration is advised by Ku to look back at what has been 'spoiled by man' and make it good again 'through man's work'. For me, this is about taking responsibility and resolving things which have gone awry. Once again, I think that this card is pointing at someone else, rather than me.

I met my friend for breakfast again today. It has been nice to spend more time with her of late. Our conversations freewheel through books to spirituality, touching on our past and our future, our hopes and our dreams. I see more of her in me and more of myself in her as the years pass. We hung around in a cafe for a couple of hours and I just got home. My boyfriend and I have planned to go for a drink with another mate across the road this evening. I was adamant that I would not go into town, where temptation lays in every late bar and the eyes of all who I meet, and I suggested this 'country pub' instead. Without the persuasive wink of town and it's inhabitants, we can come straight home when the last orders bell tolls. Well, at least, that is the idea.

So what of the beautiful oriental woman in today's card? She still lays on the floor, contemplating her next move. I recognise that this card is more about the process of decision making, rather than a decision itself, so until future cards point out her future, I can do no more than leave her to think over her options.



Illustration from The Dead Moon I-Ching by Luis Rojo