Considering Resignation

This case concerns a colleague. She secretly left work to enjoy herself for half a day, and her boss caught her. He treated her harshly afterward. Feeling mistreated, she told me that she wanted to resign. I consulted the oracle for her and obtained Lü’s sixth line: “Examine the parasite, deliberate on its guilt, and imprison it. Auspicious for the leader.”

Qian represents her boss, the leader with authority, and Dui represents my colleague, the focal player. Dui can mean escape and Qian success, so Qian above Dui suggests that she succeeded in escaping her duties. In the Hidden Hexagram, Gen represents her work and Kun nonaccomplishment: the work has produced no result. Dui can also mean damage to Qian, the proper Way. In the context of Lü’s parasitic theme, she has failed to fulfill her responsibilities and harmed the company’s legitimate interests.

The sixth line depicts the discovery of parasitic behavior and the parasite’s punishment and confinement. This benefits Qian, the leader, hence auspicious for the leader. For the focal player, it means restriction and punishment. The line therefore does not favor her escaping the constraints of work by resigning.

Later, when her anger had subsided, she returned to work.