Lunar eclipse day!
Today, a meditation from the I Ching. If you’d like more hard astrology on the eclipse, check out yesterday’s post for more info on how to track the eclipse in your own birth chart.
* The 22nd hexagram of the I Ching is called Grace, or adornment, and its image is that of a fire at the base of a mountain.
* The fire at nighttime illuminates the mountain, and so to detect or recognize the greatness of something we need small accent lights, small adornments that draw attention to things that are otherwise not naturally visible or accessible.
* Lunar eclipses are like these fires. The expose what is in the shadow…the big ugly stuff and the invisible and divine stuff.
* In order to see what a lunar eclipse is showing, we have to look by means of the events that come up, rather than looking directly at them.
* When we look by means of an event, good or bad, the event becomes the fire illuminating the mountain behind.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, we see the divine plan for our life.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, we see the unconscious material whose time has come…it’s time to change it because by means of these events we finally see and finally recognize what’s at the root of something.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, all events are an opportunity for devotional service to the divine and to others.
* When we look AT events, literalizing them, we get lost in vanity, reaction, confusion, and dissociation from our spiritual nature.
* Let this lunar eclipse, and the events surrounding it, be the fire that illuminates the mountain. See by means of this moment rather than getting lost looking AT it.
* The 5th line of the I Ching says, “Your small roll of silk seems a shameful offering among the wealth of his gardens, yet it is your sincerity that is prized.”
* This is a fortunate line. Think about it like this. How do we get others to see the mountain? How do we get others in our lives to see the stuff that matters, the stuff they need to change, or the divine that lies beyond the stuff they’re stuck in? Or for that matter, how do we get ourselves to change or see the divine? The answer repeats itself…when events happen, rather than looking AT them, we choose to see by means of them into the timeless and eternal. This action is an act of sacrifice…because it means we give up our investment in the literalness of what is happening around us. We can’t see by means of things we are attached to…their transparency is blocked. So when we offer things up, even small things, things that we desire or recognize the temptation to hold onto, then we are immediately gifted back with real vision…vision of the mountain beyond. The same goes for others. The quickest way for us to help others “see the mountain” behind the adorning fire, is to become the means by which others may see. We become this through loving service, and simple sincere, and small sacrifices that we make of our most needy interests, demands, or impatient desires within our relationships. If you want someone to see the truth, or see the divine, then offer small sacrifices of your own ego’s needs in relationships regularly.
* Similarly, if we want a loving and reciprocal relationship with the divine, if we are having trouble seeing the mountain, then small acts of loving devotion, sincerely offered, patiently and regularly, are just as valued as large or lavish gifts or abilities or insights or visions.
* Imagine God like someone who gives you a million dollars, only to ask for you to give it back. When you give it back, you are then given a billion dollars, only to be asked to give it back. Finally, the scale becomes so large, that the numerical value of what is being given is irrelevant. The most important thing is the sincerity, and the joy that is found as much in the giving as in the receiving. Sincere, small, offerings, regularly, go a long way to helping us see the mountain beyond the small fires of everyday life…
* When line 5 changes it transforms hexagram 22 into 37, family duties. The hexagram points to the importance of maintaining proper balance and equilibrium among the integral parts of a whole. It’s also quite literally about the sacrifices we have to make for our families and their needs.
* Lunar eclipses often bring up various elements of our family karma. Not everyone in our families see the mountain beyond the small fires at the base. On the other hand, sometimes we spend so much time looking at the faults and flaws of our family members, that we miss the beauty, support, stability, tradition, and depth of what our family has actually done for us, or continues to do for us, invisible but constant.
* If we want to see the divine by means of our family, or help our family to see beyond the literal fires of life, then we have to be resolved to practice service and devotion to our families. That’s not easy, but if we can’t do it there, then we carry a shadow with us wherever we go, a secret, or a lingering doubt.
* Lunar eclipses are here to help us see, see what’s in the shadows of our lives, see by means of the events that come to pass….the great mountains beyond.
Prayer: Help us to see by means of these eclipsing events, help us to see and to adorn and to serve.
Today, a meditation from the I Ching. If you’d like more hard astrology on the eclipse, check out yesterday’s post for more info on how to track the eclipse in your own birth chart.
* The 22nd hexagram of the I Ching is called Grace, or adornment, and its image is that of a fire at the base of a mountain.
* The fire at nighttime illuminates the mountain, and so to detect or recognize the greatness of something we need small accent lights, small adornments that draw attention to things that are otherwise not naturally visible or accessible.
* Lunar eclipses are like these fires. The expose what is in the shadow…the big ugly stuff and the invisible and divine stuff.
* In order to see what a lunar eclipse is showing, we have to look by means of the events that come up, rather than looking directly at them.
* When we look by means of an event, good or bad, the event becomes the fire illuminating the mountain behind.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, we see the divine plan for our life.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, we see the unconscious material whose time has come…it’s time to change it because by means of these events we finally see and finally recognize what’s at the root of something.
* When we see by means of events, rather than looking at them, all events are an opportunity for devotional service to the divine and to others.
* When we look AT events, literalizing them, we get lost in vanity, reaction, confusion, and dissociation from our spiritual nature.
* Let this lunar eclipse, and the events surrounding it, be the fire that illuminates the mountain. See by means of this moment rather than getting lost looking AT it.
* The 5th line of the I Ching says, “Your small roll of silk seems a shameful offering among the wealth of his gardens, yet it is your sincerity that is prized.”
* This is a fortunate line. Think about it like this. How do we get others to see the mountain? How do we get others in our lives to see the stuff that matters, the stuff they need to change, or the divine that lies beyond the stuff they’re stuck in? Or for that matter, how do we get ourselves to change or see the divine? The answer repeats itself…when events happen, rather than looking AT them, we choose to see by means of them into the timeless and eternal. This action is an act of sacrifice…because it means we give up our investment in the literalness of what is happening around us. We can’t see by means of things we are attached to…their transparency is blocked. So when we offer things up, even small things, things that we desire or recognize the temptation to hold onto, then we are immediately gifted back with real vision…vision of the mountain beyond. The same goes for others. The quickest way for us to help others “see the mountain” behind the adorning fire, is to become the means by which others may see. We become this through loving service, and simple sincere, and small sacrifices that we make of our most needy interests, demands, or impatient desires within our relationships. If you want someone to see the truth, or see the divine, then offer small sacrifices of your own ego’s needs in relationships regularly.
* Similarly, if we want a loving and reciprocal relationship with the divine, if we are having trouble seeing the mountain, then small acts of loving devotion, sincerely offered, patiently and regularly, are just as valued as large or lavish gifts or abilities or insights or visions.
* Imagine God like someone who gives you a million dollars, only to ask for you to give it back. When you give it back, you are then given a billion dollars, only to be asked to give it back. Finally, the scale becomes so large, that the numerical value of what is being given is irrelevant. The most important thing is the sincerity, and the joy that is found as much in the giving as in the receiving. Sincere, small, offerings, regularly, go a long way to helping us see the mountain beyond the small fires of everyday life…
* When line 5 changes it transforms hexagram 22 into 37, family duties. The hexagram points to the importance of maintaining proper balance and equilibrium among the integral parts of a whole. It’s also quite literally about the sacrifices we have to make for our families and their needs.
* Lunar eclipses often bring up various elements of our family karma. Not everyone in our families see the mountain beyond the small fires at the base. On the other hand, sometimes we spend so much time looking at the faults and flaws of our family members, that we miss the beauty, support, stability, tradition, and depth of what our family has actually done for us, or continues to do for us, invisible but constant.
* If we want to see the divine by means of our family, or help our family to see beyond the literal fires of life, then we have to be resolved to practice service and devotion to our families. That’s not easy, but if we can’t do it there, then we carry a shadow with us wherever we go, a secret, or a lingering doubt.
* Lunar eclipses are here to help us see, see what’s in the shadows of our lives, see by means of the events that come to pass….the great mountains beyond.
Prayer: Help us to see by means of these eclipsing events, help us to see and to adorn and to serve.
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