Traps

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Alex Chiu's Online I-Ching © 2001 Registered with the US Copyright Office.

Traps

e and y form a trap

For example: The self line P e moves turning into R y which produces back at itself. So the self line formed a trap.

Trapping means they hurt each other. The element e and y trapping each other is like man and wife fighting. If the appointed is weak and is also trapped, the appointed is in total trouble. For more than 20 years of I-Ching experience, Wild Crane can only bring up one or two signs which can serve as examples concerning trapping.

Some girl threw coins asking about her father's disease. She got [Querrel] and [Cover].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	sh	c - iV		s & yo

Querrel					Cover
Hiders
	P	e	-		R	y	-
	B	wa	--		G	t	--
	K	yo	o	J	B	sh	--
	B	c	--		P	w	--
	R	m	-		B	cn	-
	P	e	o	U	R	y	--

Since the girl is asking about her father, the P star represents the father. The 1st line P e moves turning into R y which produces back at itself. The P star is strong meaning that her father is strong. That means her father's illness won't be too serious. Although the ancient texts stated that e and y trap each other, the P star is strong enough to survive.

Result: The father got cured a few days later.

My friend tossed the coins asking can he earn money by investing in a certain stock. He got [Cover] and [Quarrel].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	e	w - III		y & m

Cover					Quarrel
Hiders
	P	y	-		B	e	-
	R	t	--		K	wa	--
	K	sh	x	J	G	yo	-
	B	w	--		B	c	--
	K	cn	-		P	m	-
	P	y	x	U	B	e	-

The lower gua represents now. The upper gua represents the future. The 1st line represents now, and the 4th line represents the future.

The 1st line formed a trap. This means if he buys that stock, the value will drop at first. The 1st line P y is empty. So something terrible will happen when the emptiness fulfills on day y or on day m.
But the 4th line's strong K sh moved to produce the money star G yo. This means the stock value will rise in the future. So he will end up earning money.

Result: On the day of this coin toss, the price was $31 per share. My friend listened to me and didn't buy that stock immediately. Then the stock value dropped to $27.50 on day m, and my friend bought it on day m. Then the stock value continued to rise until it reached $37 a share within 2 weeks.

I tossed the coins asking will the stock value all of a sudden drop if I buy a certain stock right now. God showed me [Cover] and [Hollow].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	w	cn - V		sh & h

Cover					Hollow
Hiders
	P	y	-		P	m	-
	R	t	x		B	e	-
	K	sh	--	J	K	wa	--
	B	w	--		K	c	--
	K	cn	-		P	m	-
	P	y	x	U	B	e	-

The lower gua is now, and the upper gua is the future. The 1st line represents now. And the 5th line represents the future. A trap has formed on the 1st line. This means the stock value will drop immediately after I bought it.

But the 5th line R t moved turning into B e which produces the self line's retreating K star. If the self line K safety star retreats, I will be in danger. But since B e is producing the retreating K star, the self line's K safety star cannot retreat anymore. This means there will be no danger in the future.

Result: On the next day, the price dropped almost one dollar. But after that, the price has risen almost five dollars within a few days.

A man tossed the coins asking about his father's illness. He received [Return] from the Lord.

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	m	cn - III		t & c

1st sign

Return 6 match
Hiders
	K	yo	--
	G	h	--
	B	c	--	U
	B	cn	--
P e	R	y	--
	G	t	-	J

The father is represented by the P star. The P e is hiding under the 2nd line R y. The P star is quite strong because the 2nd line R star is producing it. Hey, look carefully! y and e trap each other. So will the father recover or not? The father does look very sick. One look at the father and people know this man won't live too long.

Wild Crane didn't dare to make a judgment based on this hexagram. So he requested the young man to toss the coins again. This time, the young man got [Break].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	m	cn - III		t & c

2nd sign

Break
Hiders
	R	y	-	U
	G	t	--
	B	sh	--
	B	c	--	J
	R	m	-
	P	e	-

The P star in this hexagram is quite strong. But it's not moving. God is not giving any sign! If this man is to recover, it should be in the month of h because h strikes with P e causing it to move. But one look at the sick father tells people that his life won't last too long. And why is God not giving any sign? Why is there no moving line or a hiding star? That's funny.

But if the 1st line P e moved to produce the self line, there could be horror because the P star stands for worries and frustration.

Then next day, Wild Crane asked another son to toss the coins. The youngest son tossed the coins and got [Touch] and [Shun].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	m	e - iV		t & c

3rd sign

Touch					Shun 6 strike
Hiders
	R	m	-	U	R	m	-
	P	e	-		P	e	-
	B	wa	--		B	wa	--
	K	s	-	J	K	yo	-
	P	w	x		G	h	-
	B	cn	--		B	c	--

Hey! In this hexagram, the P star moved turning into G star which kills back at itself. This is a dangerous sign. Right now, the G star cannot kill the P star because the date is striking the G star. So the 2nd line is loose. But when the G star regains its strength in month h, the father's life will be in danger.

Why were the previous 2 signs showing a strong P father star? And why in this sign alone the father star is being killed back indicating death? Then Wild Crane realized that the eldest son who tossed and got the first 2 signs were asking when will his father feel a little better. In that case, the father will feel much better on day h. But the youngest son who tossed and got the 3rd sign was asking will his father die soon. Then in this case, God will kill his father in month h.

Wild Crane already got the answer from the Lord who will kill the father in month h. But Wild Crane allowed the father himself to toss the coins. The father got [Hide] and [Queen].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	m	e - iV		t & c

Hide					Queen
Hiders
	P	sh	-		P	sh	-
	B	s	-	U	B	s	-
	R	w	-		R	w	-
	B	s	-		B	yo	-
	R	w	x	J	K	h	-
	P	cn	--		P	c	--

The self line R w moved turning into K h. R represents illness. K represents a cure. Does this mean that he will be cured in month h? No. The youngest son's hexagram is the clearest sign. The father shall die in month h. This time, the father himself threw the coins and got an identical result. Although the R illness star turned into the K cure star, the self line is being killed back. No doubt. The Lord will take this man's life in month h.

Maybe the father already knows that he will soon die. Maybe he tossed the coins asking how much time does he still have. If he is asking how much time is left for him, the R star represents his time on Earth. The R star represents power and control over his own life. The K star which kills back at the R star means he won't have too much time to live.

Result: God killed the father in month h. You see? The very first sign has shown us a trap. A professional I-Ching master would request one to toss the coins again in order to determine if there is any danger presented by the trap.

A man had an affair with a married woman. The husband of that woman caught them and filed a lawsuit against the man. The man tossed the coins asking the Lord will he end up marrying the woman. He received [Trapped] and [Duay].

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	sh	s - Vii		t & c

Trapped 6 match					Duay 6 strike
Hiders
	P	wa	--		P	wa	--
	B	yo	--		B	yo	-
	K	h	-	U	K	h	-
	R	w	--		P	c	--
	P	cn	-		G	m	-
	G	y	x	J	R	e	-

6 match turning into 6 strike. Nothing is bounding to the self line. There is no way that you can fool around with this woman any longer. G is the wife star. The self line's G star moved turning into an R. R represents her husband. This means your woman will return to her husband. The wife star y and the R star e form a trap. The trap is on the self line. This means you guys will be sentenced by the court and will be bat. The date s struck the self line's G y, so the self line is loose. That's another indication that the woman will not stay with you.

Result: The court found them guilty and gave both of them bat on their asses 50 times. Then they were separated.

Luke said, "I asked about Schumacher vs Montoya. I want Schumacher to win. I got [Solution] and [Arrive]."

Year	Month	Date	Hour	Empty Dates
	m	s - III		cn & e

     
SOLUTION               ARRIVE

G sh --                R yo --
R s  --  U             P h  --
K w  O                 G c  --
K w  --                G c  --
G cn -   J             B m  -
B y  X                 K e  -

The self line G cn gain star is in trouble because it has been killed back by B m. But luckily, the 1st line's K e moved to rescue the self line's G cn. So the self line's troubled gain star shall survive. The self line (Schumacher) is the victor.

Result: The game was on day sh. Schumacher won. Although the 1st line formed a trap, who cares as long as the trap is rescuing the self line?

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