NONPLUS MESSAGE

The family is the smallest Unit - and the foundation of everything. In ancient China, 'family' was the pattern of all human existence to such an extent that, in their conception, it even transcended death: the spirit family of the departed remained in close contact with the earthly family.

It is a sign - symbolically speaking - of the creation of an intimate and lasting community: this is the task of destiny. "If you want to mend the world," they said, "you must first mend the state; if you want to mend the state, you must first mend the family, and to mend your family, you must first mend yourself." 

This is the first advice of this sign: your soul forces are "family", live in unity with yourself. If you are in a bad relationship with yourself, you will be in a bad relationship with others. Everything must start with oneself. From the inside out: this is the only possible direction for changing our lives and circumstances. That is why the picture says: "The words of the True Human speak the essence, and his being is faithful and persistent in change."

This is the role of the "Father" in the family. The name of the sign is not just "Family", but "The Family of Human", because it is a community that is not just bound together by instincts, interests or unconscious feelings, but by discerning Reason. Only human Reason is able to recognize that "I have a destiny with these!" That is to say, in the "family" of which we are speaking here, it is not blood and emotional ties that are decisive, but primarily the "divine order" which only conscious Human beings can create. In this Pattern, father, mother and children of different sexes and ages have as much place and quality as the sun, moon and planets in the solar system.

Not only the lines of the Chia Zhen, but all the symbol lines from the lower one to the upper six correspond to family members; they are also referred to in ancient commentaries as "elder brother and younger sister", etc. "I have not mentioned this because the modern reader no longer has a sense of the social and spiritual forces to which the various family roles are analogous. "

Today's family has fallen apart to the extent that it is, even at best, an emotional or interest-based community. In more recent times, it has become a scene of tragedy, scandal, divorce and anguish rather than the idyllic reflection of cosmic order it once was. That is why it is important that the Father's words get to the point. The father must know what is right and what is wrong. This knowledge he got not from the outside, from social patterns - for they can be corrupt, dishonest and low, as they are today - but from his own heart, his own sense of self and his own filtered life experience.

"From my mother's hand was sweet food / From my father's mouth was fair truth", says the poet. That's what it's about. And as for perseverance, it means that true education is not a matter of harsh punishment and the slap-and-simulate tactics of loving indulgence, but above all of example! By example! We influence our children first and foremost with our being! By who we are! What we say is not enough. We educate with our whole being. 

The Father gives order to the family. And the Mother is the cohesive force.
"The virtue of woman is salvation!" says the sage. Mothers hold every family together - without them, the whole falls apart. The "family" is the foundation of every community.
Our soul is itself a 'family'; if we close our eyes, we can feel the forces and the spaces by which we are the guiding 'father' and the caring 'mother' of ourselves, and in the gathering of our souls the desires, feelings and goals that we must raise in ourselves as good or bad 'children'. The inner world of a harmonious human being is an "ideal family".

But in office, shop, farm, workplace, workshop or wherever there is still human life, the need to become a "family" appears, because the pattern is born with man. (Even today, in the head of state life, we instinctively see "Papa" - a fact that dictators abuse shamefully.)

Any community that is not based on the family model is inhuman. Just as a multinational corporation is inhuman - everyone who works for one, no matter how much money they make, feels that.

Chia Zhen answers your question with the Family pattern. This can be a question about your inner self as well as about your family or any kind of destiny, in which the possibility of harmony can appear as well as the breaking of the pattern; the realisation or breaking of the possibilities of an idyllic human relationship. It shows us the strategy for achieving harmony - and the forces that threaten it."

 

CSIN - PROGRESS

Your sun will rise, and all will be illuminated! Csin is a time of progress, of unfolding, of blossoming, of growing up, when things shine. You step into the light... everything "comes to light". 

A time of validation, a time of growth. In the bright sunshine you gain strength and become stronger yourself. Embrace the spiritual forces - and give of yourself to others. What you experience with your eyes closed when the sun shines on your face: this is the experience of "Csin"! Desires, obsessions, everyday goals are not important: you feel that life is good, the earth is good, the sky is good... Everything is good.

This is the state of inspiration. It makes you feel more. What was difficult is now easy, what was vague is now clear. "Let there be clarity" - that is our ultimate wish. Of course, then everything becomes visible: not only the beautiful, but also the ugly! Your faults, your weaknesses, your hidden sins will come to the fore... but that's okay, at least now you can see and know that the Light is stronger than the darkness, and you can work on yourself with enthusiasm. The sun that shines at this time is within you! It has been overwhelmed by the "outer darkness": the opinions, foolishness, malice of others, the blindness and evil of our age; as long as you live, this world has been working to make you forget that God wells in you!

Now it flashes up. The light shines from you. I could say through you - because then the help of the invisible world shines through your life. Now you not only see, but you "shine". Therefore you are seen better. You are more respected. And you are appreciated.

"Progress. The prince (kang), confident in his strength, is gifted with an innumerable number of horses. Three times (many times) in one day." The "kang" also means "calm, steady, peaceful, cheerful, joyful". It's all that, together. He who is with the whole trusts in its power! With God, with the Tao, with the visible and invisible world! Such a man is invincible."  

 

JI - INCREASE 

Symbol: A vessel overflowing with material and spiritual goods.

A time of growth, unfolding, development, fertility and enrichment. The previous sign was Decrease - this is now the time of Increase. After the ebb is the tide.

" Increase. It's good to have a goal to follow. It is welcome to cross the Great Water now." Behind the sign is a harmony of forces that help and enhance each other. You experience this as a time of realization. You have waited a long time - now it arrives. What starts now gets a good wind and goes far. It is the combined work of the Wind and the Exciter (Thunder). In this sign, problems can be resolved, relationships and plans can blossom. Take advantage of the good wind!

Have a clear plan, a clear destination, and put all your efforts into your ventures.
Now you realise how much power you have!
(This is a sign of healing and empowerment, an enrichment of your outer and inner life energies.) Your personality is also enriched.

You get to know yourself much better in the "cool", successful periods than in the unsuccessful ones, because then the good and bad qualities that were hidden until then come to the surface. Those who have been harbouring a desire for power are driven mad by power, and the egoist tends to attribute all his successes to himself when the cards are in his favour. In success every man is exposed - in good cases even to himself.

It is a cliché that "power makes everyone stupid". So it is with other temptations: when the cards are right, the ego also inflates, and tends to attribute all its success to its own magic. That is why the Sage says: "In the time of Increase, the True People, if she/he sees good, she/he follows; if she/he has error, she/he abandons it."

The ultimate solution to this sign is what Jesus says: "Man can buy nothing unless it is given to him from heaven!" You can distinguish a good plan of life from a bad plan by the fact that the "good" one is beneficial to others - the "bad" one can only benefit you. "Crossing the Great Water" means that although you don't know what lies beyond, nor how dangerous the journey may be, you should take the plunge! The Master knows what lies beyond. But he will not tell you. You need the courage and the exuberant daring that can only come from leaping into the unknown.

For now, you have only one support: your faith. Believe in yourself and in your Master. In the everyday sense, the sign encourages you to be enterprising. Go ahead and do it!"

 

TUNG ZSEN - HUMAN COMMUNITY 

Symbol: Mouth in a house, under a roof. It is a sign of unspoken agreement. And the image of human. We are talking about the "number of inhabitants" of a village - in Chinese, the number of "mouths". Hence the idea of community. 

This is a time of "with others", of "together". The task is a common one, and to do this we must create unity, community.

"Human community in the outdoors: success.
It is good to cross the Great Water.
Salutary is the endurance of the True People."

There are many kinds of human community: people, family, common enterprise, army, party, religion, city, association, etc. But whatever "unity" is created in "diversity", the ancient teaching says: the basis of all true community is communion with God.

If we don't have a common point of alignment at the above, we can't agree on a lasting basis at the bottom, "horizontally". The herd of animals is held together by instinct, but the community of human beings is held together only by the Spirit - and if this is not there, the whole will fall apart of its own accord, torn apart by unscrupulous selfishness. It is no coincidence that a common faith is the strongest cohesive force. Nations are born with their beliefs. And if the strength of their faith world weakens and they lose contact with their god, the community dries up, withers, declines and finally disappears from history. Relationships of interest are destructive and short-lived. 

This sign tells you that you have to solve your destiny together with others! (A common life purpose.) Perhaps others feel this too. You need to come together. Harmoniously. If you can do this, your strengths will add up and your most daring endeavour will be successful.

The first secret to creating harmony is to find out, to recognise what you have in common. What is similar or the same, spiritually or ideologically related. This will be the point where you will resonate with each other, where you will multiply each other's strengths, and it will be the point to which, in the event of disharmony or incipient discord, you can flee back to, like a safe island in a storm: in every true community there is a solid centre, a miracle tree, which, if touched, will dispel your hatred, tame your selfishness and restore the peace of 'together'. This is the Love-Point. There is always something in the other person to love, and if we can find our way back to this, like a magnet, it pulls us together from our discord, and unity can be restored. In essence, all true community has a basis in love - even in a good band, musicians have to love each other, at least as long as they play. They may hate each other after a concert - but as long as they are 'in' the music, and the music is in them... they should be together, like lovers. They love the music - in each other too. The common "god" of a good orchestra is the music, if the musician creates a community with it, she/he will also be in harmony with his fellow musicians.

"If two of you gather in My name, I am with you!" This is the mystical, Christian meaning of this sign.  Without a common spiritual spirit, there is no true community.

The other secret is: "Burn with the Fire. This is the image of human community. The True Man classifies peoples according to their nature and distinguishes beings." That is, the other secret of Unity: Diversity. Not to lump everyone into a common mass (as communism imagined), but to preserve each one's own face, dignity, character, ability, beauty, unique, special talent. No two leaves on a tree are alike, yet and for this reason, they grow tall.  It's even characteristic of a good football team: there is a common team spirit, a common purpose, an 'all for all' belief - and with it, ten people of completely different characters and skills who might not be able to get along in other walks of life.

The soul's goal: to create our inner unity. In this sign, one is more irritable, more impulsive, more hysterical. The many Jang forces can only be organized by the light of self-knowledge. Nothing "instinctively", everything "consciously"! The forces of the soul are united by the recognized aims of life. Who has no purpose: falls apart. But everyone always has a purpose in life: at most is unaware of that."

 

VU VANG - SPONTANEOUS ACTION

 

Symbol: "Vang" means "liar", "false", "self-absorbed", "foolish", "covetous", "deceitful", "restless". The image of the Vang depicts a woman who has set off after some kind of seduction. And "Vu" means "without" all these.

Follow only your true, inner voice! To do this, you need to free yourself from all that is the work of your anxious ego: your fears, prejudices, inhibitions, bad habits of the past, and the incessant longing to see what the future holds. Don't look to the future! Live here and now!

The sign indicates a dynamic situation where we have to follow our mind. (Below is the Thunder - above is the Will of Heaven.) The command of the sign is: get rid of the reign of terror of your ego! Act freely, with abandon! Such action is said to be "spontaneous". But unfortunately, this is misunderstood. When one is free from ego control, one's action can be as animalistic and instinctive as it is free and spiritual. The inspired artist and the brave samurai act just as "egolessly" as the oblivious man who follows his animal aggression or flees "headlong". But freedom is only upwards! This sign suggests that you follow your spirit. To do so, however, you must regain your natural childlike state, free of prejudices and inhibitions, the openness you have lost. Live in the present! Here and now! Don't wait for the future, don't be haunted by the past: trust in God's will!

For Christians, this is the moment when you don't have to wonder, because the "Holy Spirit tells you what to say and do!" No need to formulate, plan and especially worry. Let yourself go and you will realise that you must not be forever stirring, pushing, straining, striving: the drift of fate drives you and the good winds blow you. If you can keep yourself in this state: you will have "sublime success". If you keep on winding the anxious, yearning prayer of your mind, you will be unlucky!

You do the most for your future when you don't even think about it - when you live the present moment as the Whole! It is from these present moments, resolved with total dedication, that your future will come into being - almost of its own accord. If you look ahead, you steal your attention and your strength from the present: you sow carelessly, and therefore your reaping will be pitiful. Anyone who selfishly looks back and forth, anxious and hopeful, who follows his ego, will, according to Confucius, "lack the will and blessing of Heaven in his actions". You must get rid of everything that is not your true spiritual purpose. You have to get rid of bad habits, ambition, egoism - you have to find the voice of your true being."

 

TA CSUANG - PROFOUND FORCE

Symbol: Big Human - and a weapon and a strong servant. This later became a sign of intellectual caste.

Power is gathering. It can be life force, spiritual force, mental force. In any case, it is an inner force that is effective and inspiring, and that gives you ever greater power. "The Profound Force is an auspicious sign." "The true nature of the human, " says the sage, "is divine and strong. What is weakness in it is wrong desire and wrong thought." Whether you are conscious of it or not, your powers are gathering rapidly, and it radiates from you. Your environment senses it. Be careful, because you are affecting everyone, and if you are not aware of it, you will not realize that what you are experiencing is what you are causing people to experience. If you're upbeat, they'll be upbeat; if you're anxious, they'll be anxious..., if you're nervous, everyone around you will be anxious and upset - because you have a strong influence.

Your creative forces are gathering and are about to be realized - the deed is being done! - the problem is that the growing energies are out of balance. There is too much Jang and not enough Jin - and therefore you are in danger of abusing your power. Several traits with the symbol of the erupting goat warn that the forces that are building up, if not guided by prudence, calm and humility, can cause serious damage. We all abuse our power. This is our Original Sin. One of the most common human sins is when we oppress and exploit others. When we are not strong, but violent! The violent one destroys not only the lives of others, but ultimately his/her own life. He/she dominates by oppressing the other, and both are destined to be destructed.

There is no "winner" oppressor! The other - also common but hidden - vice is when we fail to recognise our own power. Those who do not know that they create with all their thoughts, and delude themselves that they are weak and helpless, sin against themselves because they forget their divine origin. Your plans will come to pass. External-external forces will help you. To do this, you must know that "The True People does not tread a path that does not conform to tradition." This tradition says: Power is service! The stronger you are, the more power you have, the more responsible you are for others. And who is above has no "self" - serves with every action, every thought - even takes breath for others. (Think of the power of Jesus!) The one who serves himself is violent - and in this he can fall most heavily. The sign is encouraging, and it is also a warning: the driver of a race car with hundreds of horsepower has an increased responsibility."

 

CSI CSI - AFTER FULFILMENT (CROSSING)

 

Symbol: Crossing the river - and next to it the image of "finishing": someone is finishing a meal.

What we started once: it has arrived.
What we have been striving for has come to pass... or is in the process of "coming to pass". Everything goes through its own round of struggles and finally gets somewhere: this is what it has become! It came out of the mould... like it or not: it became this. The circle - apparently - closes. "It is completed."
Then our creative forces are briefly in balance: fire and water are not fighting, but helping each other. 

Something we have been working to create is now visible: it is being created.
A relationship, a love, a revolution, a social transformation, a work we once started, a house we built... anything that has been forming, evolving, is now being completed.

That's when the trouble starts!
After the pure revolution comes the corrupt world, the happy marriage starts on the road to boredom and ruin; our new house is filled with confusion and disharmony.
There is no more fragile equilibrium than the momentary state of "fulfilment". As soon as it is established, it begins to decay; there lurks around it disintegration, dissolution, 'entropy'.

For, as the Chinese sages say, there is no end to anything, because life is infinite.
You can run a circle, but it doesn't end anywhere, because it's not really a circle, it's a spiral: another one starts. The endless whirlpool continues on.

What should we do if we have run a karma circle right or wrong?
That's what Csi Csi advises.
"After finishing (crossing). Success is in the small. A salutary sign.
The start (new move) is advantageous! Finishing: confusing."
The wise one adds:
"The True People thinks of trouble, prepares for it, and protects himself from it."

What does it mean?
First, it means that it will improve the situation. It can't do much: it's already out of its mould, it can correct it with a little work here and there, but not much.
This can delay the decomposition process, but not prevent it. It is more important to start a new one!

This one grows organically from the previous one, yet it is new.
Let me give you a vivid example. Let's say you desire someone physically. It will be yours. The pinnacle of embrace, the "Csi Csi" state: "Fulfillment".
Once you no longer need the other, the unity experienced in orgasm recedes back into the solitude of being separate.
If, however, some deeper spiritual attraction is triggered after the satisfaction, the relationship continues, a "new cycle" begins, and it becomes first of all love and perhaps marriage.

Marriage is another state of "Csi Csi": "Fulfillment".
If a "new cycle" is not then initiated, and love does not become a deeper community of destiny - say, the two people do not initiate a new cycle of "mother" and "father" - the marriage will be in disarray and fall apart.
The community of destiny (love) is the new state of "Csi Csi": "Fulfillment".

But when the children grow up, and the two old men are left behind, the task is once again: will they start something new, the mysterious secret of the great silver and golden wedding couples who will stay together until death - or will they fall back into loneliness and become two old men, hurting and biting each other, joyless old men.
At the end of every cycle of existence, a new one must be started!
Nature works the same way: the plant has not yet fully developed, but it is already ripening the seeds of new life!
It is a great secret. To renew by preserving and to preserve by renewing. In this process, nothing is ever "finished".
(If you go through the above example: underneath the happiness of old age, there is the ring of years of all the fulfilling experiences of happy parents, married couples and lovers!)
Polish, refine, "perfect"... And what will be the new?"

 

CSUN - INITIAL DIFFICULTIES (GERMINATION)

 

Symbol: A tender blade of grass is fighting its way out of the ground.

Every start is difficult. Germination, sprouting, giving birth, starting a new plan or a new way of being is very difficult. It is also the most difficult moment of creation: to form order out of chaos, harmony out of confusion, and living beings out of thought.
Now something is beginning.
The wise men see this as a sign of hope, and they also recite the magic formula: jüan, heng, li, csen! 

What this means here is that after germination, growth and flowering, the sweet fruit of all the efforts will be reaped. It also means that this process will be a long one, because it goes through all four phases. It also says that it is a test. And especially that when you start something, remember what children once wrote on the first page of their new notebook, "I begin in the name of God."

Every salutary act is born of sacrifice.
The beginning is difficult because you have to overcome great resistance. Think of the drama of the heavy, hard, dense earth and the young germ.
Not only weak, inexperienced. It gains its strength in bitter struggles.
Who lives upwards, is strengthened by troubles, worries, difficulties, struggles. Who lives downwards is weakened and crushed by the same.
Live upwards!

Think of a baby learning to walk: he/she falls down a thousand times, hits himself/herself, but gets up again and again, and in the end he/she can walk!
The sign advises you not to focus on your distant goals, but to struggle with the present.

And ask for experienced helpers who are already familiar with the struggling process of "germination"! Listen to good advice and accept help!
The sign is encouraging. You will only fail to get a salutary result if you are frightened by difficulties, if you feel self-pityingly weak, and especially if you are distracted and give in to confusion.
The True People creates order. He rests on a firm foundation of tradition - which means he has unshakable faith. ("Unshakable" means "believing in Order.")
The related Chinese image (the Lun) shows the Great Man spinning the many threads into a thread. Order here also means this: the many small ones come together into one big unit. As in cellular growth. Here, too, the gathering is important, the many small struggles of the quantitative process that give birth to new qualities."

 

CSIEN - MODESTY

Symbol: One mouth - and one hand, which unites and separates the grain equally. Meaning: man weighs his inner things justly, and this is manifested in his "outer" life. "The mouth speaks from a pure heart. I show myself as I really am.

The name "Csien" is similar in sound only to the 1st sign, to the Creator. Here it means modest, humble, unselfish, respectful, considerate.
Your task now is to become unselfish.
Whatever you ask, you can do with humility.
People today don't understand this, and they didn't understand it much in the past.

Peter took the puffed-up ego as a model of greatness.
He thought that the Master, the High Priest, God, was "above" and shining like an earthly Emperor in unapproachable splendour. He could not even imagine the real King kneeling before him, washing his dusty feet and wiping them with the binder of his own robe.

He did not understand that "the greatest among you should be like the least".
This idea is not only alien to us, but we consider it to be a shameless hypocrisy.

What we don't know about true humility is this.
Self-lessness (humility) is a magical act. To the extent that one transcends ego dominance, to the extent that the hidden atomic power of one's soul begins to radiate, a lonely little man becomes a cosmic, powerful, divine being, living by the power of the Whole and shining with its light.
If Jesus had been even a little arrogant, he could not have radically reversed the history of mankind - and no one would be talking about him today.
" Who humbles himself shall be exalted" - this is the basic teaching of Christianity, Taoism and the Ji-king himself.

In the martial arts, a person without a self is literally invincible!
Not only because he sees clearly and is guided by his intuition, but also because he is powered by the atomic energy of the Universe instead of his "own battery". What you see today: false modesty, humility, hypocrisy.

It is the cunning play of the puffed-up, vain and power-hungry ego, which deceives not only the world but also itself, because it wants to cash in not only on money, power, success and recognition - but even on the divine glory due to saints and "good people". While he pockets his vast wealth, he tells you that poverty is a virtue! As he steps on your head, he proclaims that you should remain beautifully humble.

Uninhibited selfishness is often displayed in the pose of modesty (phariseeism).
In the sign of Csien, we are talking about real selflessness!
Here, one is precisely aware of one's own values!
Christ, while washing Peter's dusty feet, knew and even said that he was the Son of God and that the greatest glory awaited him!
What distinguishes the modest man from the false modest is authentic self-knowledge. A humble artist, if he is dedicated, dares to proclaim that his works have written in the history of human culture that "I will teach all my people".
Though, I must add, one who is truly modest does not consider it important that his name should survive.

The sign advises: stay down and you will rise up!
If you are up, don't celebrate yourself, always step back and down - if you are down, see deep meaning in service.
Know and appreciate your own worth - be neither servile nor an unjust judge of yourself - and expect no one's recognition. If you do get it: thank them and that's that!

I don't buy glory from people. For they cannot give what they do not have. All praise: empty. Unless it comes from God - but that praise is from within.
The greatest things are all born down below, in the silence, in the depths, in wordless, humble devotion. Humility is the mother of the greatest achievements. Many famous and over-celebrated, fashionable 'world stars' have reported that their values are due to the humble and diligent period of their lives. Her success ripens in the womb - and if she is not careful, if she is caught in the glow of success and loses her modesty, she will be destroyed spiritually and artistically.
This is not a moral issue, but a fateful operation of the dynamics of existence. In the East it is called karma."

 

HENG - PERSEVERANCE

Symbol: A heart and a boat between two shores. Life journey.

Good and bad can come if we row with one heart in one boat!
This Chinese saying probably comes from the sign for "Heng".
Whatever happens, stay on course! Do not deviate, no matter what. Not tomorrow, not the day after, hold on, for a long time. This is the path of your destiny. 

The "Book of Changes" teaches that everything changes, and there is nothing but eternal Change - a sign of permanence, of durability; that the Heart - the centre - must not change. 

"Heng" is the sign of the ideal marriage.
I've been living it for almost half a century. I have been a lovelorn adolescent, a worried man, a father, now a grandfather - every cell, brain cell, circumstance, friend, home, country, and the history of mankind, even the climate, has changed; my wife and I have changed, but our marriage has not, because it was made in the "Sky".

The secret of durability is that while everything dies, it is also constantly reborn. If the fidelity does not change, if the "heart" remains, then the alternation of "passing-birth" is given meaning and direction.
The centre does not change.
The message of the sign is: you are on the right path, stay on it, stay the course!

The wise say:
"Success. Constancy is desirable. It is desirable to know where you are going."
In this sign, the True People does not allow the temptations of change to affect him. Like a good ship's captain: unaffected by storms and waves, unmoved by the calm of the wind, unmoved by the shores that are swept away - only by the Goal!
It can only do this if it is at one with itself, if it is convinced that the path it is on is the right one.

 

KUAN - CLAIRVOYANCE (ATTENTION)

 

Symbol: A bird is looking from a "bird's eye view" - an ancient symbol of Sight.

Before you act, you must see exactly what you are doing and why.
Your task: see clearly, impersonally, without prejudice.
See yourself, others and your destiny as it really is - see as if you were seeing through God's eyes.
We are always looking through some kind of "glasses".
Through the "glasses" of our selfishness, our desires, our hopes, our fears, our inhibitions, our expectations, our subjective prejudices, but especially our lies, our self-deceptions.
Now we have to get rid of all these. Before you take a single step, see Reality!
See what it is really like!

Who are you? Who are you talking to? What is this story about? What do you really want and why?!
Which is your true way and which is false? Look at everything as if you were seeing it for the first time!
So you can get rid of what is unworthy of you, what you have outgrown - so you can start a new journey, no longer guided by your delusion, but by your vigilance.
This way is called Fate.

Before you take a single step, you need to see the real perspective.
You can't see it yet - the sign warns you - but it's time to see it!
Clarity. Wash your hands before you make a sacrifice! Those who walk in the true path (the path of the holy spirits) are looked upon with reverence.
To see the daily message of the sign, you must understand its spiritual meaning.
The Taoist Temple is called "TAO KUAN."
Meaning. A place where I pay attention to the Tao.

The secret of Taoist meditation is nothing but observe.
I observe my breath. I observe the flow of energies. I observe to my thoughts. I observe to my soul. I observe to my life.
The Buddha's reincarnation (Avalokichvara) was called KUAN JIN. It means "observe to the sound."
"Meditation," he taught, "is nothing but observing to the outer-inward sound."
While chanting and reading sacred texts, the monks would strike a wooden fish, rhythmically.

The eyes of the fish are always open! It can always see. It is a symbol of alertness.
And now comes the everyday meaning of the sign, clairvoyance, it means you are not involved in the world. You don't identify with anything, you just see. You see it as a landscape from on high, as a map of your journey. You see where the paths are, where the obstacles are, you see the hidden connections of your destiny, and from now on you will never say, "Forgive me, Lord, I did not know what I was doing!"

A clairvoyant person is not only on the right track, but also has a mysterious effect on the world around him.
He looks "from within", and this gaze is not only clear, but also extremely powerful. It is not weakened by any selfish emotion or thought.
Whoever he looks at, he sees his weaknesses. There is no hiding from it. This is the power of a fearless, penetrating gaze.
And this sentence leads me to the martial art, the first step on the road to victory: to know my opponent and his strategy.

And of course myself, a good fighter sees his own faults and virtues unvarnished. Whatever dangerous situation he finds himself in, he is constantly on the alert. A good fighter can see clearly both when he is attacking someone and when he is being attacked.

The answer to your question: look well! As if it were not you. It's like it's happening to someone else.
That's your job. Then you can move on. That's what this sign encourages you to do..., maybe because it "sees" that you can't see properly! And you don't know, you can't see clearly."

 

CSIEN - GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT

 

Symbol: Water and cutting. This is the symbol of the river Csian. Its source came from the Chou Kingdom in the mountains of central China, cut its way through vast areas, swelled and widened, and finally flowed into the sea. 

The answer to your question is: "It's progressing, but much more slowly than you'd like!" Two nature metaphors help you to put your situation into perspective.
The first is how a thin stream starts, winds, swells, burbles this way and that, collects other waters, then spreads out and becomes a huge, flowing river.

The other is a comparison of the two kua: a Tree growing on the top of a Mountain.
How long it takes! Moreover, the outside eye can only see its foliage, not its roots! But that's what makes a tree big and strong, that it grows deeper and deeper into the thick, dark layers of the earth!
What you see grows from the inside and from the bottom.

What helps the growth process is inner strength. Certainty.
It will be as I dreamed! To grow tall, you must have an unshakable foundation.
The other essential thing: external adaptability. What does this mean? Always following the path of least resistance. To crawl into everything, to find a grip, to be flexible, tenacious - constantly adapting to external opportunities.

Growth is a struggle, but it is not to overcome the outside world, it is to be fulfilled!
The obstacle to growth: impatience.
Over time, the root system will crack the rock, burying its soft fibres in the hard stones, but if you rush this slow struggle, it will come to nothing.
This is cellular growth. Step by step. Gradually.
Some days nothing happens. Some days it all seems to regress; sometimes the situation seems utterly hopeless.

In this sign you learn that your destiny is not a straight line, but a zigzag. Where every "zig" and every "zag" is not a dead end, but an unmissable stage of maturation! That's when you lose faith. You run on. Somebody inside you shouts, "It's all going to come to nothing! Let's keep going, we mustn't get stuck here!" And in hindsight: what you thought was a siding was the decisive point in your progress!
int in your progress!
Nietzsche said: "To want = is to want a will for a long time."

The deeper meaning of the Csien sign sees here the development of yourself and others: "The True Man firmly guards his moral and spiritual power to develop the people."
Whatever you ask, the answer lies not only in the possibility of distant fulfillment, but also in the need to grow to the task.
You are immature to receive it now, immediately."

 

LÜ - THROUGH PASSENGER

Symbol: People gathered around a flag.  

Your temporary situation is similar to that of a passenger or a guest. You are not at home, you are a stranger, far from your roots. You can only expect success in small and insignificant things - nothing here is yours and will not be yours "permanently".

Jesus says this for the whole of life on earth. Live your life here, but do not consider yourselves condemned. Everything will pass here! It is not "your country".
The Chinese scripture warns: people come and go, you must remain loyal not to them but to the "flag", the spiritual root!
If you accept that you are a transient, a tourist or a guest, your situation may even be pleasant. But you must always be aware: this is not your world and the people are strangers. You have no deeper destiny with them.

The situation usually does not take long.
A running affair can be meaningful - but if you're not careful, you could lose your dignity.
The image of running Fire on the Mountain: spreads quickly. Meeting and parting: this is your life. Don't make the transition permanent! Know: you are in strangers, so be careful and considerate with people.
Choose where and with whom you spend time. Plan for the short term."
 

FU - RETURN (REBIRTH)

Symbol: Steps return to the road. 

"Return. Success.
It breaks open and penetrates without hindrance.
Partners are coming. Flawless.
Fate turns, you return to your own way.
The seventh is the day of return.
It is advantageous if you have a destination!"

This is the winter solstice: in the deepest darkness, light is born. In fact, it returns, because everything goes round and round, like the planets around the sun: everything returns - but not to the same place.
Spring returns, but it is not the same spring, and you are not the same, and no blade of grass or experience is not the same!

What can be returned here? The joyful experience of being "I am"!
For a single moment, everyone has had such an experience - if not at other times, then in childhood.
This is inspiration. That there is no death! That I am an eternal spirit! Even those who are not aware of this experience so much of it at such times, that some kind of hope is awakened in their difficult period of life.

The trouble is starting to go away.
It's fading.
And his faith, his will to live, and sooner or later his strength will return.
The air slowly fills with the smell of an encouraging Future.
New plans, new partners, new opportunities.
You feel a strong urge to act, but wait! Enthusiasm is not yet Strength - only the "seventh day", the seventh "rhythm" will be the moment of Action.

The situation is similar to when a woman is in a blessed state. She knows that her destiny has been radically changed - yet she needs many months of calm, peace and quiet until she herself is ready for motherhood and her fetus in her womb is ripe.

Gather your strength, process the memories of your past and listen carefully, because where you are broken, you will be strong, where you have lost, you will be invincible.
The True Man does not run away from his past, however dark it may have been, for his failures become the fuel, his defeats the triumph - his tragedies mature him into greatness.
At the dawn of new times, the past must be dealt with and the future strengthened.
For this we need calm.
It is difficult to remain silent at a time when you most want to break out, but that is what you need now: your germinating faith must be strengthened."

 

TAI - BLOOMING (HARMONY)

Symbol: Man is swimming in the stream of Eternal Change. In harmony with the Tao.

Everything is slowly blooming.
When the Creator and the Receiver are in harmony, signs of blessing appear in every area of life: abundance, peace, fulfillment, prosperity, achievement, well-being.
Blessing is in anyone when they are in harmony with God's will.
Then we are not fighting the current, but we are swimming with it. As in a fast-moving river, the shore actually flies past us; we can cover a great distance with a single stroke of the arm, because our strength is summed up in the power of the river.
Harmony is when our actions are assisted by the divine Power, the spiritual world - and even the human world is not hostile.

In nature, this is the time of bloom.
Blooming. The small goes, the big comes.
Hello! Success!
Today's man is intoxicated, rejuvenated, exhilarated, and overwhelmed with vibrant joy and greed - even the blood in his veins rushes faster.
In ancient China, the blossoming of the flowers was a symbol of prosperity and and quiet peace.
When a man is floating on the waves of the Tao, nothing happens, because nothing belongs to him: everything belongs to the Tao, including him, his body, his soul; success is not his, and the flowers are the fruits of the Tao.

"Kuo tai - ming an!" - so the thousand-year-old proverb goes.
"When the country is prosperous, the people are peaceful."
The "prosperity" here, of course, did not mean today's decadent opulence, but the prosperity of the flowering cherry trees. It was not the result of individual greed, but of a ceaseless flow of divine abundance. 

Tai means that you are now "with yourself". Unconscious with your consciousness.
Your ego is gradually softening, giving way, stepping back. It is not demanding, not craving, letting you finally get what you truly deserve. In your first joy, you believe that your plans will "fulfil themselves" - it's easy to get lazy in this force field - and so the traits warn you that you need to work on harmony too!
Peace has to be preserved - and since we are human and everything is impermanent, a state of harmony has to be created again and again.

You also have to "swim" in the direction of the Tao.
Your inner harmony is reflected in your human relationships. Harmony has a magical power. The mere presence of a harmonious personality cleanses, settles, heals and creates.
I can feel that this man don't want it for himself!
To be more precise: what he wants, he wants for me, for himself, for everyone at the same time; he wants what the Universal Spirit wants.
Maybe something new is starting in your life. You may also find new allies. You may encounter stimulating circumstances not only within, but without.

 

SENG - RISING

 

Symbol: Scale for fermented beverages. (1 seng approx. 1 litre).

It's a time to grow up, to make plans come true, to turn ideas into reality. Seng today also means "rising up". Seng is when one emerges from obscurity and becomes known.
The ancient symbol has a deeper meaning. It shows how the essence slowly fills the scale: drop by drop, the essence is distilled.

A few litres of spirits from a hundred kilos of fruit. We all have a meaning in life. We don't just live - we live for something. We have to do something, we have to get something out of ourselves. It is difficult to define what it is. The most important thing. A purpose that is both external and internal! A life plan that I can only fulfil if I grow up to it: if I become who I am meant to be! This is what happens in the sign of Seng.

And the lines show a tree slowly emerging from the "inside of the earth" and growing tall.
In answer to your question, the oracle says: success depends on your effort.
Day by day, hour by hour, cell by cell, you must work diligently. The 'tree', the wise men say, needs effort to take root in the thick soil and grow tall.

"Rising up, a great achievement. See The Great Man. Don't worry (don't doubt). Southward march is welcome."
The superficial meaning of the sign is a slow but unhindered ascent. Recognition; slowly you will "grow out from under the ground" and they will finally see who you are and what you are made of. All dreams - the ones you work hard for - come true. This is the process you are in, or about to be in. Here, hard work does not mean violence, but quite the opposite: one must always look for the direction of least resistance, like the fine hairs of a tree or the windswept branches: one must adapt, go around, gently penetrate, weave in, slowly thicken, strengthen.

The deeper meaning of the sign is the secret of Taoist yoga: the way to find your own essence, your spiritual truth. To do this, it is advisable to seek the help of the "Great Man" who knows this path well because he has walked it.
Follow your star - every day you get closer to it. Your efforts will be rewarded. " Do not fear " means " Believe in yourself ". Persistent work will also result in you getting to know yourself better and better and realising that you are strong! You have the power to make things happen!
When you first start out, you worry because you have no faith - but as life confirms you for the first time, your worry is replaced by confidence. This is the time when you can be your best. What's inside you can now be realised.
It's not ready... You are making it now. The sign says "don't worry" because the process is slow!