Stephen B. Young, The Daily Record Newswire
Our national presidential campaign is adjusting to some relatively powerful events on the political Richter Scale that measures consequential impacts on voters. There was President Barack Obama’s masterful speech at his party’s convention in Charlotte, Mitt Romney’s condescending dismissal of the “47 percent” who allegedly live off the common good, and last week’s first debate between the candidates.
In addition, international affairs — the murder of an American ambassador and violent riots and demonstrations organized by some Muslims —intruded to raise questions about the president’s success in foreign policy.
So who will win next month’s election given these new developments?
A while back I consulted the I Ching system of predicting events to answer that question according to the flow of circumstances at that time. Surprising to me, the results then gave an edge to Romney. The I Ching hexagrams that emerged in the consultation indicated that Obama had a chance of being a strong, dynamic, successful leader if he embodied courage and vision. I noted in that column that he didn’t seem to have a lot of “there” there and so would not be able to take advantage of auspicious trends. The hexagram emerging for Romney played to his existing strengths, then in play, and so one could infer that he was more likely than Obama to benefit from the flow of events.
Given that I Ching results change with the times, after last week’s presidential debate I decided to consult it again to see if any differences in prediction emerged to reflect changed prospects for the two candidates. In theory, the I Ching responds to the flow of life forces (Qi) at all times. Thus, if new disturbances or perturbations arise to move the Qi, then a new consultation of the I Ching is recommended.
No prediction stands valid over time because things and feelings change. Predictions rest on existing conditions as they are seen to be moving towards foreseeable outcomes. When conditions change, we should adapt our expectations as a wise response.
Consider that subprime mortgages might have been constructive additions to our economy in 2003 and 2004 but that by 2007 new such mortgages had become “toxic” and not worth their face value given the high probability of a collapse in housing prices and resulting recession. Our prediction of the worth of such mortgages should have been favorable at the earlier date and very negative at the later point in time.
As Heraclitus noted, we can’t step into the same stream twice. All is flux. “Events are in the saddle and ride mankind,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. We master history either by moving with its tides or by imposing our own Qi on its currents.
So last week I again threw three copper coins (U.S. pennies can still be put to this good use) six times for Obama and again six times for Romney. And, as I suspected, a new hexagram of six lines each emerged for each candidate as indicative of their changed prospects in the election.
The more dramatic hexagram emerged this time for Romney: It was hexagram No. 6, Sung, or “arguing.” If the 64 hexagrams are laid out in a circle starting with the one symbolizing the origin of accomplishment, hexagram No. 6 falls into the first or north east quadrant, which contains a sequence of 16 hexagrams building toward first achievement. When you are starting an activity, getting a hexagram in this quadrant is auspicious.
Hexagram No. 6 advises Romney to “argue.” Energetic rhetoric, debate, persuasion, will carry him closer to complete success. How fortuitous and coincidental that this hexagram emerged just after his successful debate against the president. But the I Ching is not supposed to be about merely casual and nondispositive coincidences; rather, it provides an insight into forces driving reality. So we should not be surprised when the I Ching gives us a hexagram so close to real circumstances.
According to hexagram No. 6, Romney will gain if he presses his claims and beliefs, articulates his objections and lays out his vision. In other words, to win Romney must commit as a leader — taking risks and offering a vision and inspiration. He must get real and not just posture or spin. He must step beyond management and reach for that higher level of purpose and commitment which we call “leadership.”
So let’s see if he can do this over the next four weeks. If he can, he is more likely than not, according to the I Ching, to be our next president.
This time the I Ching presented Obama with another challenge: The hexagram that emerged for him was No. 42 or I: “augmenting.” According to the implications of this hexagram, the president needs to step up his game if he wants to win. He must pour “more water in the vessel,” the I Ching notes. He must impose a direction of the flow of time. He is poised between advance and retreat, augmentation and diminishment. He needs to increase whatever it is that he has to offer if he is to avoid a decline in his prospects.
Now, hexagram No. 42 as it emerged for Obama had a dynamic or “moving” top line. A dynamic line indicates a high potential for change, a shift to another set of circumstances symbolized by another hexagram. So an astute reading of the I Ching should consider the implications of that additional hexagram as well. In Obama’s case it was hexagram No. 3: “sprouting.”
This hexagram is relevant to circumstances where one must prepare for arduous labor; one must cause some plant or initiative to grow; one has to work, show care, nurture what is natural and has potential to grow. One has to push through with the life force and not back away into one’s comfort zone.
One word in the commentary of the I Ching to this hexagram notes that one should harvest local sources of energy and life.
This to me indicates that Obama needs to reach out to those who believe in him, give them sustenance of hope and inspiration. His advantage lies in the ground where the voters are, not in his elite background or in his campaign workers and advisers.
But when we look at the placement of these two hexagrams in the circular arrangement of all 64, there is an important fact to note: Hexagram No. 42 sits right next to hexagram No. 3. Thus, each hexagram reinforces the impact of the other as a guide to where events are heading for the president. This compounding effect of both hexagrams one with the other must not be ignored and increases the salience of their messages to us.
But in a further observation, hexagrams No. 42 and No. 3 sit in the third quadrant of the circle, coming right after full Yin, or the apex of practical accomplishment. Thus, there is an implication that one in those circumstances has already reached a high point of material achievement and needs now to worry more about possible attrition and decline in effectiveness.
This seems to apply well to Obama’s situation: He is a sitting president, having a significant accomplishment under his belt. His re-election prospects are mixed. Failure is possible. The I Ching has properly, therefore, responded to his circumstances, giving a prediction that victory can’t be taken for granted and showing him a successful way forward towards re-election.
In short, the I Ching advises us that the election is still up for grabs: Either candidate could win. Each has his work cut out for him.
The recommendations of the I Ching play to the strength of each man. In that sense the I Ching offers hope to both. Romney demonstrated in last week’s debate that he can “argue” as the I Ching recommends that he do. And, President Obama was a community organizer in Chicago, so he has experience with getting out to precincts where voters live and worry about their futures.
