Stock Speculation

A friend who speculated in stocks was unsure about a particular investment. I consulted the oracle for him and obtained Lü’s fifth line, the scene in which the parasite’s attachment to its host breaks.

Three aspects of the imagery pointed in the same direction. First, Qian represents great size and Dui expenditure. Lü’s original Qian–Dui structure depicts committing a large amount of capital. In Hidden L5, Gen is the opposite of Zhen and can represent a return or repayment, while Kan represents danger and injury. Kan above Gen suggests difficulty obtaining a return. Together, the images point to an investment that brings no return.

Second, Xun in lines three, four, and five originally represents the focal player’s gains. In Transformed L5, Xun becomes Kan. Expected gains turn into danger and injury, suggesting that the anticipated profit will not materialize.

Last, the fifth-line statement reinforces this reading: “The attachment breaks. The focal player will be injured.” The venture fails and causes harm to the person making the investment.

Taking these three points together, I concluded that he should not make this speculative investment.