I Ching and Cat Food

It occurred to me this morning that the chart we use to tell which of the cats has been fed at mealtimes is an I Ching generator, creating a hexagram every two days. If the cats are both there when someone goes to feed them one of us marks a long line across the chart, but if only one is there then that cat gets marked separately with the other cat usually appearing shortly after. As we all know, cats are pure chaos machines; it is therefore completely random. Who needs yarrow stalks when you have hungry cats?

And a close up of the hexagrams from this morning:

The first hexagram is 26. Ta Ch'u, The Taming Power of the Great

• Upper trigram: Kên Keeping Still, Mountain

• Lower trigram: Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven

§ The Judgement

The Taming Power of the Great.

Perseverance furthers.

Not eating at home brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

The second hexagram is 44. Kou, Coming to Meet

• Upper trigram: Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven

• Lower trigram: Sun The Gentle, Wind, Wood

§ The Judgement

Coming to Meet. The maiden is powerful.

One should not marry such a maiden.

§ Reading the Changes

Not being proficient in readings I asked Claude to interpret these hexagrams for me.

Ta Ch'u counsels the accumulation and disciplined containment of great energy—something powerful is being held in check, waiting for the right moment. The judgement's odd line about "not eating at home" traditionally means that nourishment and fortune come from venturing outward, engaging with the wider world rather than retreating into familiar routines. There is something to be said for that in the context of two cats who have, in fact, been eating at home rather a lot.

The moving lines suggest considerable flux—this is not a stable hexagram resting quietly on its meaning. Lines 1 and 6 moving together (the base and the crown) implies the whole structure is in transition, not just one aspect of the situation. Lines 4 and 5 moving in the upper trigram reinforce this: the containing power is releasing.

Kou, the resulting hexagram, is trickier. Coming to Meet describes an unexpected encounter—something arrives unbidden, from outside, meeting you halfway. The traditional commentary is cautious about it; the "powerful maiden" is not threatening so much as disruptive, representing a force that arrives on its own terms rather than yours. It is associated with the first hint of yin returning after a full yang cycle—a small but significant incursion of the unpredictable.

In sum: something long-contained is releasing, and what comes to meet you next will not be on your schedule. Given that this reading was generated by cats demanding breakfast, the interpretation is arguably flawless.

I cannot say whether this means anything. The cats have no opinion.