6 Divorce - The I Ching
Chris Gabriel December 13, 2025
Judgment
Fight, but not to the bitter end.
Lines
1
Don’t draw it out, there will be rumours.
2
Unable to fight, he goes back to his small town.
3
Live off your old deeds. Working for the king brings nothing.
4
Unable to fight, go back to yourself. Be calm.
5
Fight, and fortune follows.
6
Sometimes you are given a ribbon, and by morning you’ve been stripped of it three times.
Qabalah
Imperfectly, Kether to Yesod, or Gimel ג directly. The High Priestess.
Kether only makes contact with Tiphereth below, not Yesod. The path between them is the lunar Gimel.
Heaven to the Moon.
The rain we had been waiting for comes down, and when it rains, it pours. This storm can lead to relief, but in the moment it can be exceedingly troublesome and unpleasant. The ideogram shows public dispute: the airing out of dirty laundry. Often called conflict, strife, or contention, the clearest title is divorce. We are dealing with separation, the splitting of water from the sky as they go their separate ways. Divorce is very difficult but the hope is that it will eventually calm and peace. This is not necessarily about splitting a marriage, but all splits: arguments, breakups, and lawsuits.
1
Just as the judgment says, it is best to get things done quickly or to give it up when the time is right. Consider very public, very ugly divorce procedures and court cases, they invite gossip and bad attention.
2
This is like a classic “divorced dad” joke, where after divorcing he moves back to his home town and lives in a little apartment. In this case, this is the right action to take!
3
When new work doesn’t come, we have to live off our old work.Consider this as dipping into personal savings when you’re in trouble.
4
We often see people who are divorced “become themselves” again; they pick up old hobbies, or spend time with old friends.
5
Fight when the time is right and you’ll have victory.
6
Even when there are apparent victories, especially with divorces involving children, they are often appealed, reversed, and continually fought over.
In the previous hexagram, we eagerly awaited what comes down here. It was the calm before the storm. As a religious person may yearn for the horrors of an Apocalypse, with hope that something greater is on the other side of trials, we must have faith that we will get through the troubles that come our way.
George Harrison puts it perfectly:
A cloudburst doesn't last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It's not always gonna be this gray
All things must pass
His wisdom echoes chapter 23 of the Tao Te Ching:
A Terrible wind won’t last all morning
A Terrible storm won’t last all day
Who causes these?
Heaven and Earth.
Heaven and Earth can’t make something last
Why could Man?
As humans, we cannot keep our relationships and friendships forever - all things must pass. When it’s time to part ways with someone, don’t make it ugly.
