u/pringlepeebs

One thing I've noticed is that people often react with dread when they receive Hexagram 29 (The Abyss / The Repeated Pit). It's easy to see why. The imagery of water, danger, and repeated chasms doesn't exactly sound encouraging.

But the more I've studied the I Ching, the less I think Hexagram 29 is predicting misfortune.

To me, it's describing the reality of moving through difficulty.

Water doesn't fight the canyon. It flows through it. It adapts without losing its nature. That's the quality I think this hexagram points toward.

The Judgment doesn't promise that the danger disappears. Instead, it emphasizes sincerity, constancy, and continuing forward. The challenge isn't to avoid the abyss altogether; it's to cross it without losing your center.

I've also noticed that 29 tends to appear during periods when life requires resilience rather than dramatic action. Sometimes the "right" response isn't to escape the situation immediately but to navigate it carefully, one step at a time.

In hindsight, some of my most meaningful readings involving Hexagram 29 weren't warnings that something terrible was about to happen. They were reminders to stay grounded, be consistent, and trust that difficult terrain can still be traversed.

I'm curious how others see it.

• Has Hexagram 29 shown up during genuinely difficult periods in your life?
• Did it feel predictive, descriptive, or instructional?
• Has your understanding of it changed over time?

I'd love to hear how others interpret one of the most misunderstood hexagrams in the I Ching.

I've been thinking about how differently the I Ching and Tarot approach guidance.

My impression is that Tarot often feels like a snapshot of the present moment. The imagery can be very immediate and psychological, helping me understand what's happening internally or around me.

The I Ching, on the other hand, feels more like a conversation about change. Rather than simply describing a situation, it often points toward how it's evolving and suggests an attitude or course of action that aligns with that movement.

Of course, that's just my experience, and I know many people use both systems in very different ways.

For those who work with both:

• Do you find yourself reaching for one more than the other?
• Do you ask different kinds of questions depending on the system?
• Have you ever received the "same" answer from both in different forms?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who've practiced with both for several years. Has your preference changed over time?

Each week I cast the Yi Jing with a single question: "What is the collective energy for the coming week?"

For the week of July 6, I received:

• Primary Hexagram: 30 — Li (Fire / The Clinging) (䷝)
• Resulting Hexagram: 14 — Da You (Great Possession) (䷍)

My initial impression is that Li points to illumination, discernment, and the challenge of seeing clearly. Double Fire feels like a time when hidden things come into the light, information moves quickly, and we're asked to distinguish genuine insight from mere appearances.

The movement to Da You (Great Possession) feels like a reminder that true abundance follows clarity. Once we see clearly, we recognize the strengths, virtues, and resources that are already present. Rather than acquiring something new, it's about stewarding what we already have with wisdom and integrity.

As a collective reading, it seems to suggest a week in which revelations, clearer understanding, or visible leadership may emerge—but also a reminder not to confuse what's loud or attention-grabbing with what's genuinely true.

I'd love to hear how others read this combination. If you work with the Yi Jing or approach it through a Taoist perspective, what does the movement from Li to Da You suggest to you for the collective during the week of July 6?

(I'm focusing on the relationship between the primary and resulting hexagrams here rather than a line-specific interpretation.)

As the title says. I'm just starting out with my I Ching journey and would love to practice reading with some people! Please ask me a simple question and I'll do my best to reach out and answer it! Feel free to either comment your question or DM me (if you're DMing me, please leave a comment, as sometimes its hard to keep track)

I’ve been stuck thinking about a situation that never fully became a relationship, but still left a strong impression on me.

There was someone I got close to in a very undefined way. It wasn’t clearly dating, but it also wasn’t nothing. Things felt open at first. It was comfortable, even a bit meaningful, but there was always this lack of direction underneath it.

Over time, I started noticing a pattern where I was more emotionally invested than they were. Nothing explicit was ever said, but the dynamic started to feel uneven. There were moments of closeness followed by distance, and I never really knew where I stood.

Eventually, things just didn’t develop further. There wasn’t a clear ending or conflict. It just slowly dissolved into distance and silence. We still exist in the same broader space, so there’s an awareness of each other, but no real interaction anymore.

What’s been bothering me is that I keep trying to assign meaning to it after the fact. I find myself replaying conversations and moments, wondering if I misunderstood it completely or if there really was something there that just never had the conditions to grow.

I recently got a reading of 24 → 2, which I understand as “returning” moving into “receptive/grounded stillness.” But I’m not sure if I’m interpreting that in a healthy way or just using it to justify staying mentally attached to something that already ended naturally.

Now I feel stuck between thinking maybe this was something that could have returned or developed under different timing, and thinking it was simply a brief connection that I’m over-analyzing because it never had closure

I’m not trying to force anything to happen anymore, but I can’t tell if I’m supposed to “let it cycle back naturally” or if I’m just holding onto something that was always meant to settle and end quietly.

Has anyone dealt with something that never officially started but still took up this much mental space afterward?

I’m in a pretty small friend group (5 people). I wouldn’t say they’re my best friends, but they’re people I would consider close friends.

About a week ago, one of my friends mentioned in the group chat that she was planning a trip to visit one of our mutual friends (for privacy reasons, I will not mention the location). I was coincidentally considering planning a trip to visit that area on one of the weekends that she mentioned. When i told her this, she and another one of our friends in that friend group responded saying that they could go that weekend.

After that though, it wasn’t brought up again until I mentioned it during one of our hang outs yesterday. When I asked I asked the friend who first mentioned planning the trip if she was still planning on going, she said that she and our other friend had already booked a hotel for a different weekend. Specifically, it was a weekend that I specifically said that I couldn’t go. When I asked her why she went ahead and booked a hotel without telling me, she told me that she assumed that I already booked my own hotel for the other weekend we talked about (I didn’t). After that, I didn’t feel like hanging out anymore and made an excuse to leave.

Since then, I’ve been pretty distant from the friend group for the past couple days. I felt really hurt that they didn’t tell me they already planned the trip without me, and specifically on a weekend where I couldn’t go. When I talked to one of our other friends in the group chat, she told me I was overreacting and that it wasn’t that deep. Despite this, I still can’t help but feel hurt and disappointed.

Am I overreacting?