The last few years, I have sought to globalize cultural analysis of the forces which move events – are they moral in any sense? To do this, I have consulted the ancient Chinese Yijing – 64 hexagrams each of which has six lines, each representing a yin force or a yang force. The arrangements of the lines offer a prediction as to the direction of events. So, the hexagram associated with a particular year gives us a coherent sense of what will have effect during the year and what will be of little effect or even suffer reverse or failure during those 12 lunar months.
As midnight Monday was the end of lunar year 2025, this notice is a report on the accuracy of my predictions for that year. I will shortly consult the Yijing again for its wisdom on what is to come during the current lunar year of 2026.
Last January, I made the following observations as to what would likely happen during 2025. The relevant hexagram was #44. It called things pretty much as they would happen over the year.
Here is some of what I concluded:
The fissiparous nature of the world order will frustrate the emergence of leaders with the necessary yang energies to respond to the times with alliances and collaborations. We can expect petty squabbles, petulance, disobliging, stubborn, recalcitrant, beggar-thy-neighbor policies and decision from all quarters. This will hinder ending the wars in Ukraine and between the Palestinians and the Jews of Israel.
In the U.S., President Trump, personally in line with yang energies, will find himself checked internationally by an unwillingness to see things his way or meet his demands. He would be better served if he backed away from threats and punitive responses which use yin and spread his concern and compassion for others far and wide, being a partner, not a boss. He should think of himself as a kind and gentle wind blowing freely everywhere to bring hope of change through team spirit to everyone. He should think big and wholesomely about moving Heaven and Earth for the good of all.
In a very consequential mistake, going against this lunar year’s auspicious energy flows, was Trump’s decision in early February 2025 to impose tariffs on American imports from Canada and Mexico. The Canadians and Mexicans immediately retaliated, setting off a trade war that will raise hard feelings, provoke anger and resentment and prevent collaboration. Going against the yin/yang balance of this Year of the Snake will make it harder for Trump to get his way and so confront him with a loss of power and influence.
Domestically, Trump will achieve more, as he has a team in place and he engages with them, allocating responsibilities for results to others. He is taking advantage of their willingness to work together on an agenda. His opponents – symbolized by the first line denoting yin energy – will be unable to obstruct him. The more he reaches out and engages (“couples,” as the hexagram says) with others, the more he will be successful. The more he tries to impose his will on others, the less he will accomplish. It is a year set to reward coalition building and finding the middle ground, giving advantages to all parties.
The Democratic Party, resting in the first line of the hexagram, will not get its act together. They are out of sync with the times. They have lost sight of Heaven and Earth and are so prevented from using the great powers of those realms to further their aspirations and their efficacy. As Proverbs 28:19 tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
The advantage will be to the small, the innovative, the trusting and the trustworthy, in the economy – not the behemoths of the great corporations. Artificial intelligence will assist collaborations, as it makes useful for small businesses and entrepreneurs data multiplied by data. Those who stand aside or refuse to align their efforts will stagnate or fail. The flow of forces should moderate inflation and keep equity markets optimistic. However, there will be no success in reducing debt levels.
I do not see reforms in American education, reversing recent trends of declining competence in reading, writing, mathematics and the ability to think rationally and effectively. Fixations on “my truths” and lack of respect for merit will prevent schools, colleges and universities from engaging with and inspiring their students to benefit from primal energies and soar in their ability and their aspirations. Those institutions, too, are stuck in the first line of the hexagram – a yin-bounded view towards life, cut off from greater yang possibilities.