In an earlier piece we mentioned Noah, who was wondering whether to become a baker or an astronaut. There we wrote about the lists people usually recommend for decision-making, offered a few questions worth asking yourself, and showed how the I Ching can bring other perspectives into a decision – which is why it can be worth asking for its "advice".
Noah is a fictional person, but the situation is true to life: two options appear in someone's life, and both are attractive for their own reasons. The final decision is of course always in our own hands, whatever information we gather, but with more knowledge it can be easier to decide.
Here we'd like to show you a concrete draw: what it looks like in the app when you type in a question, what short piece of wisdom you receive, and then, after pressing one button each, the longer interpretation of the wisdom/hexagram and the practical tips. From the latter we'll highlight the reflective questions, which help you go deeper and think through your topic from several sides. And if you want to go even further with a draw, the "Oracle" is at your disposal – an AI chat that already knows the text of your draw and answers your further questions.
Noah's draw was originally generated in Hungarian; what follows is a faithful translation.
Noah's Question
"I'm 24 years old. I've just finished my bachelor's in physics, and I'm standing between two paths that are very far apart. I could apply for a master's in aerospace engineering – it's been my dream since childhood – or I could leave all of it behind and start as an apprentice at a small bakery – I found it by chance, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. Should I become a baker, or continue on the aerospace engineering path? I find just as many arguments on both sides, and I can't decide."
The Hexagram and the Short Wisdom
This is the first thing you see after a draw: the hexagram, its name, and a short piece of wisdom.
The AI Interpretation
Dear Noah,
In your mid-twenties, finishing a bachelor's degree in physics marks a milestone where the solid foundation of acquired knowledge meets the open horizon of the future. Walking through your twenties, you carry within you both the fire of childhood dreams and the weight of adult decisions. The hexagram you have drawn bears the sign of Modesty, which symbolizes deeply hidden strength and an integrity free of outward show. This energy does not seek loud success, but the inner quiet in which true values take shape on their own.
The lower trigram is formed by the Mountain, which stands firm and motionless deep in the earth, enclosing its hidden treasures and accumulated experience. This reflects your inner situation, where your achievements in physics and the expectations you have fulfilled form your inner base. By its very nature, the mountain does not flaunt its height; it simply exists in its own naturalness, while every one of its movements carries weight.
The upper trigram is the Earth, which represents a receptive, nourishing and infinitely patient force in the outer world. The earth quietly carries everything that lives upon it, and makes room for growth without trying to direct it. Noah, this outer field of force now invites you to let go of cramped willfulness and let things unfold in their own natural course.
The relationship between these two forces shows that the mountain lies beneath the earth – the greatest forces are not displaying themselves on the surface now, but working in the depths. This hidden dynamic means that the ambition within you and the desire to create with your hands do not cancel each other out, but complete each other. The tension of having to choose arises because both paths address a genuine part of who you are, and instead of fighting against one of them, the situation shows that patience is worth more right now than a firm stance.
The career of an engineer reaching for the stars and the atmosphere of a quiet, flour-covered workshop seem to exclude each other, but both are expressions of the same inner search. The abstract laws of physics and the ancient, tangible alchemy of baking both aim to create order in a reality that seems chaotic. The present moment teaches that modesty is not a tool of renunciation but a source of clarity, helping you see the essence behind the surface glitter.
Practical Guidance
Dear Noah, the following reflective questions can help you see more clearly the true roots of the two different desires within you:
- If five years from now you woke up on an ordinary Tuesday morning in an engineering office, working through seemingly endless equations, what is the concrete moment or achievement on that day that would make you feel it was all worth the struggle?
- If you imagined that same Tuesday morning in the quiet of a small, flour-covered bakery, where, despite the early-morning tiredness, you are sliding the first loaf into the oven, what inner stirring or physical sensation would you miss if you had to spend that day in front of a computer instead?
- Does your childhood commitment to aerospace engineering come from a longing to reach the stars, or rather from the pride your surroundings would feel at seeing your success, while the bakery is your own quiet refuge, a longing to get away from the world's expectations?
For clarity, you need these very concrete steps that you can take today:
- Visit a small, independent artisan bakery this afternoon, buy a sourdough loaf, and while you eat it, spend ten minutes talking with the baker or the shop assistant about the real difficulties of their work, the early mornings and the physical strain, so that you also see the everyday reality behind the romantic idea.
- Open the official curriculum of any aerospace engineering master's program, read the description of the subject that seems hardest, and notice your first physical and emotional reaction: does the fire of enthusiasm light up at the challenge, or does your stomach tighten at the compulsory theoretical pressure?
- On a single blank sheet of paper, in ten minutes, write down everything that is simmering in your head, but shut out the expectations of your parents, your circle of friends and society; also write down what you would choose in secret if no one in the world would ever find out what you decided.
What to do today: allow yourself the full luxury of uncertainty, without having to make the final decision tonight – according to the hexagram's teaching, the deepest forces are working within you in silence.
What to watch today: observe your own inner, physical stirrings during the two actions listed above; your body will signal the right direction far more precisely than an overthinking mind.
What to avoid today: avoid asking anyone around you for their opinion, because outside advice would now only cover up your own voice, the one that you alone have to hear.