18 Approaching - The I Ching
Chris Gabriel March 14, 2026
Judgement
Approaching is the origin of a pure and bountiful harvest, but after eight months it’s unfortunate.
Lines
1
Approaching together in purity.
2
Approaching together: joint approach.
3
Approaching, but gaining nothing. He worries.
4
Approaching and achieving.
5
Approaching with knowledge makes a prince do great work.
6
Approaching with offerings.
Qabalah
Imperfectly the Path of Vau: Chesed to Chokmah. The Hierophant.
In this hexagram we are given the image of the shoreline, a Lake approaching the Earth. The ideogram gives us the image of supplicants: a crown is met with three kneeling people making requests. This is the role of both a petitioner at the court of a King, and the prayers in which we make our pleas to God. As the tide slowly and humbly meets the earth, so the supplicant petitions the King.
The Judgment tells us it is good to make requests and attempt to make changes in the world, but when no ground is gained, it’s best to move on, lest it becomes begging.
1 A unified group advocating for a cause may be able to sway the powers that be with greater effect than a lone individual.
2 Forming coalitions can allow advocates for multiple causes to gain greater influence.
3 Often pleas are met with no results. This is something to contemplate. One should not go on tilting at windmills, but find the most effective method to achieve one’s goals.
4 The petition is accepted, the low meets the high on even ground now.
5 People with power must attract wise and knowledgeable people. Wise people must approach people with power. It is through interaction that great works can be achieved, for both sides are weaker without the other.
6 Lobbyists know well that the key to making changes can be bringing gifts to those in power.
In each line we see a form of petition and its potential for effect. While the text refers primarily to worldly powers, the corresponding Tarot card, the Hierophant or Pope, gives us the perfect symbol: a worldly power representative of a divine power - unifying supplication as legal and divine. This has of course been the case for much of history: the God-Kings of Egypt, China, and the Americas.
A great deal of ritual magic consists of petitioning spiritual powers. As these lines show, there is little difference between making pleas to a king or a deity; one should make the approach with a group, one should have offerings, and most importantly one must have the knowledge to make use of such an interaction.
While many people may never make pleas to a king or petition a deity, nearly everyone will interview for a job, ask for a raise, or try to gain money from another. This is the mundane function of the hexagram. Therefore, let us grow in wisdom so we can approach those who can change our lives, and not make fools of ourselves.
