At the beginning of each week, we draw a single Tarot card and consult the I Ching. The Tarot card represents the person (you, me, us). The I Ching reading speaks to the nature of the scenario that you, me, us will face throughout the week. Think of it as protagonist (tarot) and plot or theme (I Ching). It is our opinion that neither the I Ching nor the Tarot are tools of prediction, but rather a mechanism to aid in self reflection.
        Before reading further, we recommend you collect your thoughts regarding the state of affairs inside your head as well as what you are involved with externally. Take precise stock of your emotional temperature and your goals for the week. The more preparation and detail, the better the results. 

So, of both the Tarot and the I Ching, we asked the following: for the coming week, what is the best advice for the engaged and sincere person?

Petite Reading
        This week we asked a sort of ultimate question(s). Something like a query of cosmic, terrestrial and internal realism. We prepared by saying we understood really understood the human animal to be in a constantly difficult spot, besotted by blind corners, cut off from origins, with no access to ultimate meaning — but then also still able to feel joy and create beauty… We said we knew this with nuance and intimacy, but oft forget it and subsequently struggle for balance and energy. So, keeping all this in mind we asked our question(s): How do you do more? How do you engage the world more? How do you engage yourself more? And how do you do it with more constancy? It would be hard to receive a better reply. The short of it is this, persevere and persevere more, let the Creative Power flow through you like the natural force that it is — if you do this with responsibility (and without guile) to yourself and your surroundings, the world will be yours in great measure.  

Complete Reading
        This week we pulled the Nine of Wands. This card is a symbol of persistence within struggle. It is suggested to consider an aspect of your life in need of tenacity (all of it 😉). The card also suggests that this is a time where the perseverance will be requited. 
        Our first hexagram this week is also the first of the I Ching, #1, The Creative. There was one change (note at the end). This hexagram is perhaps the ultimate statement of the I Ching as a whole. Here is laid out the philosophical footing and substructural sentiment of the book. These are beautiful passages. The I Ching is a text aimed at guiding the querent (the seeker) to that which is most nutritive for them — a type of realism which does not sacrifice poetry. If you have the time take a few minutes to read it yourself. “According to the original meaning, the attributes [sublimity, potentiality of success, power to further, perseverance] are paired. When an individual draws this oracle, it means that success will come to him from the primal depths of the universe and that everything depends upon his seeking his happiness and that of others in one way only, that is, by perseverance in what is right.”
        Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #14, Possession in Great Measure. “The time is favorable—a time of strength within, clarity and culture without. Power is expressing itself in a graceful and controlled way. This brings supreme success.”