Waiting — 上九

The Line

Interpretation

Waiting is over: the danger can no longer be averted. One falls into the pit and must resign oneself to the inevitable. Everything now seems to have been in vain. But precisely in this distress, an unforeseen turn occurs. From outside, without one's own doing, an intervention comes, about which one may at first be in doubt as to its meaning, whether rescue or destruction is near. Here it is important to remain inwardly flexible. Not a defiantly rejecting closure of oneself, but a reverent welcoming of the new turn, is the right thing. Thus one finally comes out of the danger, and all goes well. Fortunate turns too often come in a form that at first seems strange to us.