A Child’s Illness

Another student consulted the I Ching when her child became ill and received BI’s fourth line: “Outer combing. Auspicious for the diviner.” In discussing that consultation, the child’s condition became the focal concern. Gen and Qian represented the body and health, while Kan and Kun represented the adverse condition being considered.

The Original Hexagram contains Kan overlapping Gen, which supplies the image of the body encountering crisis. In Transformed L4, the Kan trigram disappears and the figure becomes Dui over Kun. Dui means impairment; with Kun assigned to the adverse side in this inquiry, the image suggests a weakening of what obstructs health.

Hidden L4 is Gen over Qian. Gen represents the body and Qian health and strength, so their combination supported a favorable symbolic reading. In the account given by the student, the child remained ill for another day or two and then recovered.

The case again turns on perspective. In the main scrutiny narrative, Gen over Qian can favor the official without establishing benefit for his client. Here, the body and health belong to the same focal concern. The image must be interpreted in relation to the question actually asked, with the roles stated clearly.