Yin-Yang-Yin-Yang
The yang breath is still at the height of its work,
but a faint yin has taken the ground below. It packs, meaning to go.
1
He packs in the dark.
Nobody sees the going.
His heart left before the rest of him.
2
The goose grieves on the ice.
It leans on the south wind and still carries its mate inside it.
Nothing in it is glad and nothing in it moves.
3
He goes where he meant to go.
Gladness comes up to meet him on the road.
The road turned out to be the one he wanted.
4
The big fowl flies at dawn and comes down in the north.
They call to one another and never stop feeding.
They lost the direction and kept the appetite.
5
The swan makes ready at the dark river.
It eats and drinks and takes its time.
The one who is going gets what he wanted.
6
Six crossings, nine roads, round and round.
Nothing stops him going anywhere.
He is not travelling; he is trading.
7
He packs and there is no one going with him.
There is profit in setting out.
The trouble is already on its way.
8
The younger brothers scatter along the wheel-ruts.
They weep on the road, seeing him off.
This is how a man is sent to his death.
9
He packs at dusk.
It is very late.
Late is not the same as too late.
THE IMAGE
Travelers and merchants loading strapped wooden trunks, rolled silk bolts, and bronze flasks onto pack horses and covered carts before a morning departure at a mountain pass waystation.
THE COMMENTARY
A departure is taking shape. You may be preparing to leave a place, role, relationship, phase of life, or settled way of doing things even before the outward movement has begun.
Packing asks what you need to carry and what should remain behind. Departure is not only geographical; the heart often leaves first, while obligations, attachments, and appearances take longer to follow. Pay attention to where you have already begun withdrawing inwardly.
The road may bring welcome change, but travel also separates. Some departures open possibility, while others expose isolation or danger that was easier to overlook while preparations were still exciting. Make ready carefully, and know why you are going before movement itself becomes the purpose.
This figure is one of 81 in Taixuanjing for Today, a book by Joe Perez that renders Yang Xiong’s Canon of Supreme Mystery in original verse, with expanded commentary, essays, and full instructions for casting the oracle yourself.