Meeting Another Person’s Request

Once, my child asked me to drive her somewhere. I thought the request was unreasonable and did not want to agree, but I felt a little guilty and was unsure what to do. I consulted the oracle and obtained Lü’s fourth line: “Attaching to the tiger’s tail. Efforts meet resistance. Withdrawing is auspicious.”

Dui represents a young person, speech, and a request, corresponding to my child and her request. Qian represents the leader or the person with authority to decide, which in this case is me. Lü, Qian above Dui, therefore depicts the child asking me for something. Transformed L4 is Zhongfu, Xun above Dui.

Four readings of this imagery pointed to the same conclusion. First, Dui represents speech and a request, while Xun, inverted Dui, represents speech in the opposite direction: a negative answer. This suggests declining the request. Second, the phrase “efforts meet resistance” in the line statement carries the meaning of opposition, another indication that I should decline. Third, Hidden L4 is Zhen above Gen. Zhen represents a vehicle and travel; Gen represents an obstacle. Travel is obstructed, making the trip unfavorable. Fourth, Gen can represent home and peaceful dwelling, while Zhen can represent gaining an advantage. Zhen above Gen then means the energy of staying peacefully at home prevails. Remaining at home is the appropriate choice.

These four readings led me to conclude that I should decline my child’s request and stay at home.