I ching

I Ching Hexagram 56
Lu (The Wanderer)

Action: Explore

Hu Gua (hidden influence) 28 Critical Mass: Adjust

Zong Gua (underlying cause) 60 Limitation: Regulate

And the still deeper secret of the secret:
the land that is nowhere, that is your true home.

He had the uneasy manner of a man who is not among his own kind,
and who has not seen enough of the world to feel
that all people are in some sense his own kind. – Willa Cather

Reading at a Glance: It is said that the greatest Wanderer does not know where they are going. This is the openness required to follow the Way. After the zenith of the previous hexagram, there usually follows an anti-climax where the atmosphere becomes uncertain again. Lu symbolizes the message that it is the journey and not the destination that is important. Something is changing and you will need to be flexible to adapt. Familiar routines and comfort zones will no longer do. The hidden influence of Critical Mass shows the importance of not becoming too complacent where stability can lead to stagnation and even collapse. The underlying cause of Limitation shows the opposite condition, where we hold to the familiar and abide by rules. For now, the vistas open before you and like the Fool in the Tarot deck, it is time for an adventure. Taking the road less traveled or leaving the ordinary behind is the only way to invigorate your sense of discovery. Wandering or traveling is an opportunity to examine the baggage you carry with you. Perhaps it is time to lighten your load? You may be changing residences or careers and an open minded attitude will serve you well as you approach the changes. You can be a gardener of people and yourself by acknowledging how individual differences can lead you to experience something different about yourself. Your way is only one way so be open to what Wandering into the unknown can teach you.

The greatest traveler

has no itinerary.

When traveling,

be a gardener

of every new experience.

“Whatever greatness may exhaust itself upon, this much is certain: it loses a home. Hence follows the idea of the wanderer.” You may follow the path of the Wanderer, mastering the art of living in a place without boundaries: “This is the deeper secret of the secret. The land that is nowhere, that is the true home. When some people travel, they merely contemplate what is before their eyes; when I travel I contemplate mutability.” When you wander in the land of Te, all of life is a place of discovery. You push onward toward new horizons because “the greatest traveler does not know where he is going.” If you follow, there are no limits to what you might become.

When far from home, you take your inner treasure and ritual along. “When the heart is uneasy, we support it with ritual.” Your daily ‘ritual’ is more obvious when you are forced to pack it for a long journey. To travel with companions, much energy is wasted in fortifying the dynamics of familiar routines. When you are traveling alone, you are more authentic and free to discover your real capabilities.

Some part of you is active during dreaming, where you access an awareness that becomes a postcard sent to awaken the one who sleeps by day. Each night, you travel back and forth from a strange land to understand the real essence of who you might become. When you dream, you access a place “as though there is no home to go back to.” When morning comes, you travel “across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.” Yet, you are always traveling across a tapestry that transcends boundaries. This is the openness required to be a Wanderer.

In the image of people loyal to a home that is far away, the Wanderer points to an endless expanse of sky, and shows you how the horizon is an illusion and that there are no real boundaries to your capabilities. The seed of self-realization is unfolding regardless of where you are. The current situation will not linger, and you will soon travel onward, although you have developed a sense of loyalty to carry with you. Everywhere you go, there you are, in a giant tapestry of your unfolding.

To approach the mystery of Tao, “you cannot take hold of it, but you cannot lose it. In not being able to get it, you get it. When you are silent, it speaks; when you speak, it is silent. The great gate is wide open to bestow alms, and no crowd is blocking the way.” When you discover the great gate, you may lose a paradigm, but will discover your true home.