Oracle

  Oracle is defined as “the mouthpiece of the gods.” Gods is plural here because we are referring to forces in the universe that determine the nature of what happens in the world. These forces are always at work and we have come to know many of the ways in which they interact allowing us to predict outcomes resulting from the interactions. If we build a flame under a pot of water, we know that it will eventually boil. But in many situations, the interactions are too numerous and there are forces at work that are not known to us so the outcome can’t be known. And this is a problem for us because we want to be able to either repeat or avoid the situations we encounter in our lives. Without this knowledge, our lives become serendipitous journeys that will take us to places desirable or undesirable and we will never see either coming.

 An oracle gives us access to this knowledge concerning the forces at work in the current situation we are experiencing so that we can come to know these forces and how they interact to create the situation in which we find ourselves. Consulting an oracle, whether it be through throwing cards or manipulating sticks or an actual human being who is a seer, works because we are using these devices that we cannot manipulate to connect us to a perfect vision of that moment in time. The unknown forces at work and how they interact with each other are shown to us and we can begin to notice them at work because we are still in the situation. This, of course, does not just magically happen. We need to familiarize ourselves with the symbolism used and be open to the knowledge imparted even if we are being told what we do not want to hear. Out of our need for something not to be true, we may not be able to accept that what we are being told is true and real, but hearing it will plant a seed that will grow with further consultations until finally flowering into the knowing that what has been revealed is true. And the acceptance of what the oracle is telling us becomes easier as we come to experience the increased clarity it brings us about how the world around us works.

 The following is a description of a difficult moment in my life and my use of the I Ching to gain some clarity about where it was that I found myself. I had been spending time with a woman who had allowed herself to get caught up in a situation that was stifling her creative energy and not where she belonged. Her attraction to my energy had allowed us to work on the possibility of her extricating herself from the situation she found herself in and allowed me to be true to who I was. I wrote this following a meeting with her where she was letting me know that she had decided to stay in the situation she was in and there would be no further movement towards a spiritual awakening that I represented in her life.

An hour to spare

  I sat and read a little after she left. Thought what I was feeling was simply detached. But it was not anything, just emptiness in the midst of idle chatter and consumer goods. This was not a place that I belonged. And before I new it, I was home feeling still out of place. Surrounded by many things that ‘needed’ to get done and nothing important enough to actually do. The I Ching sitting on the shelf grabs my attention. And soon I am playing with sticks wondering what I needed to hear. Chien on top, Kun on the bottom, first line.  Damn!  Pi / Standstill (Stagnation) “Heaven and earth are out of communion and all things are benumbed.” Yea, that’s how it feels. “The way of inferior people is in ascent – the way of superior people is on the decline.” More bad news. Lets see what the line has to say. Six at the beginning means, “If it becomes impossible to make our influence count, it is only by retirement that we spare ourselves humiliation.” Nowhere to plug in means you don’t plug in. A place not unfamiliar to me. And I remember seeing you sitting in the chair and knowing you had already pulled the plug. I tried to hear your words, but the meaning wasn’t clear and there were no poems left. So I had to be silent. Who am I to say how it needs to be? Such foolishness belongs to others. But I had hoped for a better hexagram. I really want to believe that you are where you need to be, but the sparkle was not in your eyes and the letter was not a poem. And there is so much to know and see. Sitting under this tree with a warm wind blowing, I can almost forget this madness that is all around us. But it can’t be done. The inferior is everywhere and I’m advised to remain aloof. Did I see in you, out of my need to heal the separateness, something that was not actually there? Or perhaps I was simply more than you bargained for? I cannot say. I only know that I will miss the places we have been and wonder about the places that could have been.  Damn hexagram!  The truth can be so annoying. And I know that it is all perfect, but being invisible gets tiresome. I would have liked to have seen more of you and I would have liked for you to see more of me. But things are as they are and the sun is going down and I will take refuge in not wanting things to be different than they are. Your words and poems and presence will not be easily forgotten. They were something very real in a world built on illusion. Being together allowed me for a short time to be who I really am. And for that I am thankful, even though the price I must pay is this unwanted seclusion. Forgive me if I misjudged you, but the signs were there and I wanted it to be true. And the energy was real and powerful and irresistible. And now this stagnation / standstill and nothing left to do but leave it alone and withdraw into seclusion.  Damn hexagram!  How is this going to bring light into the world? An hour to spare is not enough.

 Once you understand that inferior people means those that are still caught up in the world of material things and superior means those concerned with awakening from the illusion, you can see the forces at work and not get lost in feelings of anger or sadness. The forces at work define the situation and they cannot be altered through an act of will. By forcing us to examine the true nature of the situation, the oracle puts us in the place of the witness where we can begin to see how this all works.