Good, Bad, Regret, and No Blame

When you see the word “misfortune,” is your first reaction fear, or wanting to know what to change?

Original

彖者，言乎象者也；爻者，言乎變者也；吉凶者，言乎其失得也；悔吝者，言乎其小疵也；无咎者，善補過也。……憂悔吝者存乎介，震无咎者存乎悔。

In plain words

The judgments speak of the images; the lines speak of change. Good fortune and misfortune speak of losing and gaining. Regret and distress speak of small flaws. No blame means being good at mending a fault. ... To guard against regret and distress, watch the fine line where things tip; to be shaken and still reach no blame, rely on regret.

Key words

悔huǐRegret: sensing something is wrong and wanting to turn back. The start of turning from bad toward good.
吝lìnNarrow, stingy: a path getting tighter. A sign of sliding from good toward bad.
无咎wú jiùNo blame. It assumes there was a fault, and that you mend it. It is not the same as good fortune.

Reading it step by step

Yesterday you found your line. Line texts often end on a few words: good fortune, misfortune, regret, distress, no blame. Today's question: what do these words actually say? Are they verdicts, or warnings?

First: good fortune and misfortune mean gain and loss, and the gain is measured against your own wish. "Good fortune and misfortune speak of losing and gaining." Getting what you hoped for is good fortune; losing it is misfortune. The way of Heaven has neither. Rain is good fortune for a farmer and misfortune for someone holding a wedding outdoors. So a reading of "misfortune" only says: the thing you asked about will not turn out as you hope, done the way you plan. If you ask about applying to one school and get "misfortune," that one won't work; look at another. No need to frighten yourself. Equally, "good fortune" is not a guarantee; it means this direction tends toward gain.

Second: regret and distress are small flaws pointing in opposite directions. "Regret and distress speak of small flaws." Regret is the discomfort that makes you want to turn back, so it turns things toward the good. Distress, originally "narrow" or "stingy," is a path that keeps getting tighter, sliding toward the bad. That is why the text says to watch "the fine line where things tip." If you fear going astray, notice it when you are only a little off: the remark that was too sharp, the bill put off, the promise forgotten.

regret: turning toward good

misfortune

regret, turn back

good fortune

distress: sliding toward bad

good fortune

the path narrows

misfortune

Watch the fine line: notice when you are only a little off

Third: "no blame means being good at mending a fault." This is the key sentence. "No blame" appears very often in the line texts, and many readers relax when they see it: all clear. But it assumes a fault. You mended it, so it didn't become a disaster. It is not good fortune; it tells you there is still a gap to fill. The next line is even plainer: being shaken and still reaching no blame "relies on regret."

good fortune · you gain what you hoped

no blamea fault, well mended

misfortune · you lose what you hoped

At work, the worst thing about a mistake is usually not the mistake but pretending it didn't happen. Explain it yourself, apologise, close the gap, and things often stop at "no blame." Think of the old craftsmen who mend a cracked bowl with small metal staples, one by one. The bowl serves for years more, and the crack becomes part of its story.

Together these words make a scale. They don't announce a fixed fate; they show how far you are from good fortune, which way you're sliding, and what you can still repair. Next, how to cast a reading.

One line to carry

No blame isn't “all clear.” It's a fault, mended.

Today's question

Is there a small thing lately sliding from regret into distress? What is one step you could take today to mend it?

Quick check

A reading says “no blame.” What is the best way to take it?

Next pageFifty StalksPage 6

I · How to Consult the I Ching — Yin and yang, trigrams, six lines, and how to ask a reading sincerely

Printable journal pages · I Ching · About

Sister site: 五十策 Fifty Stalks