ASK ROASTIE

BAD ADVICE. GOOD TIMING.

HEXAGRAM 56 OF 64 FIRE OVER MOUNTAIN

THE WANDERER

旅 Lǚ

the wanderer, travel, a stranger in a strange place, impermanence, minding your manners

ROASTIE

The Wanderer. Fire on a Mountain, a stranger passing through, minding his manners because nothing here is his. The book says success in small things. You're going somewhere, and you'll be a stranger there too, because the thing that follows you around everywhere is you. Pack light. The book's advice. You'll pack the whole personality anyway. Ya roasted!

THE JUDGMENT

Success in small things. For the wanderer, firm correctness brings good fortune.

THE LINES, BOTTOM TO TOP

  1. Line 1 The wanderer busies himself with trifles; so he draws down calamity on himself.
  2. Line 2 The wanderer reaches an inn with his money intact and a trustworthy young servant.
  3. Line 3 The wanderer's inn burns down and he loses his young servant; persisting is dangerous.
  4. Line 4 The wanderer finds a resting place, keeps his goods and his axe; but his heart is not glad.
  5. Line 5 He shoots a pheasant and loses one arrow; in the end praise and a post.
  6. Line 6 The bird burns its own nest; the wanderer laughs first and weeps later; loses his ox too easily; misfortune.
THROW YOUR OWN ALL SIXTY-FOUR

Text: the I Ching, after James Legge's 1882 translation, public domain, trimmed into plain English. The take: a coffee bean, licensed in nothing.