I open the I Ching again over the application form

Scenes

• I open the I Ching again over the application form — After putting my child to bed, the field-trip form due tomorrow is still waiting. Before picking up the pen, I check the hexagram again.
• I’m torn between wanting to send them and feeling worried — During the day, I heard my child say they wanted to go. But at night, I start listing everything I’ll have to handle. I was asking both feelings of one hexagram.
• The pen stops over the signature line — Even with the pen touching the parent signature line, my hand stops. On my phone, my child’s message from earlier still says, “I want to go.”
• When the question changes, so does the path — An I Ching reading isn’t a chart that chooses the right answer for you. If you take turns asking, “Is it okay to send them?” and “Am I the one who’s anxious?” even the hexagram you cast will change.
• Write down what to ask before casting — Before casting another hexagram, write down just one question. “Is tomorrow’s decision about my child’s plans, or about my worries?”
• Sometimes the question stays with you longer than the answer — You don’t have to sign all at once. Write down your child’s plans and your worries separately, then see which one to look at first.