With the continuing problem of bird flu in Asia, especially China, and the recent news of several deaths in Turkey, I thought I should consult the oracle on the progression of this illness.  I asked a very general question: what are the prospects for the disease spreading and claiming more lives?  And the answer that came back seems rather positive; perhaps the virus will not jump to human-to-human infection and the death toll will remain relatively low.

    The first hexagram I received was number 55, "Abundance (Fullness)":

      
   with moving lines in the first, third and sixth positions, tending toward Hexagram 35, "Progress."

      Hexagram 55, in this context, seems to be pointing in a negative direction.  While the title, "Abundance," sounds good, the Judgment reminds us of an impending fall:

Abundance has success.
The king attains abundance.
Be not sad.
Be like the sun at midday.

     Why would a king who has achieved abundance even think of being sad?  Because he knows that good things do not last, that, due to the inevitable cycles of nature, his abundance will decline.   The advice – "be like the sun at midday" – is meant to suggest that the king must be "illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven".  The irony, though, is that the noontime sun is ready to sink.  We have good times now but should get ready for a decline: a rather ominous statement if we are thinking about how bird flu might develop.

    The three moving lines reinforce this potentially negative picture.  While the nine in the first position describes two people learning how to manage a time of abundance, with its inherent danger of decline, the nine in the third place presents an eclipse of the sun, a moment of increasing difficulty where even an able ruler cannot be effective. And the six at the top points clearly to misfortune.   

    Taken together, these three lines draw a downward sloping line: things are getting worse.  This decline could be exacerbated by bad choices made by leaders – the six at the top speaks of a person who makes things worse through his "arrogance and obstinacy" – but the overall situation of "abundance" is destined for downward movement in any event.

    But the generally negative view proffered by Hexagram 55 takes on a different light when considered in relation to Hexagram 35.  "Progress" symbolizes a rising sun; that is, it is looking beyond the inevitable decline of the midday sun in "Abundance," beyond the night, and toward the next sunrise:

The hexagram represents the sun rising over the earth.  It is therefore the symbol of rapid, easy progress, which at the same time means ever widening expansion and clarity.

     Am I wrong to believe that the image of a sunrise is a good thing in the context of bird flu?   The "progress" being spoken of here is not the rapid progression of the disease itself, but the progress humanity makes in improving health.  That is my gut feeling at least.

     And if that is true, then, when we look at both hexagrams together the message is: things are bad now, we are entering the worst phase of the disease (the sun is moving off its midday height) but the situation will improve before long (the sun will rise again).  This does not sound like the worst case scenario of world-wide flu pandemic.  It may be a warning that more people will die in this flu season over the next few months, but we will not see a rampant outbreak of sickness and death. 

     Of course, this does not mean that governments and health officials should step back from their preparations: human actions always matter for the I Ching.  Rather, it suggests that, with continuing work and attention, bird flu will be reined in.