The Battle of Red Cliffs
Inauspicious
The poem
Original: 抱薪救火大皆燃 / 烧遍三千亦复然 / 若问荣华并出入 / 不如收拾枉劳心
The story
Cao Cao's great army camped on the north bank at Red Cliff. Zhou Yu, unable to find a way through, allied with Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang called up the east wind, Huang Gai feigned surrender and steered fire into the chained fleet, and the river became a sheet of flame. Cao Cao's army was destroyed. Fighting fire with fire only makes it burn higher.
What it means
This is the sign of carrying firewood to a fire. Redoubling effort with the wrong method makes the situation worse, and the worse it gets the harder you push, a loop that consumes everything. If you are asking about advancement or about ventures, the honest answer is to stop and put things away rather than waste yourself. A thousand clever plans are no use here, and the moment you engage, the trouble attaches itself to you. Stand still, and think the whole thing through again.
By area of life
Wealth
The harder you want it, the less it yields. Returns are slight, and leaving the matter alone actually costs you less.
Love
Pressing for progress is drinking to drown sorrow, and the sorrow deepens. Left alone it might have survived; pursued, it collapses.
Work
More effort makes it worse because the method is wrong. Fix the approach before doing anything else, and avoid blind persistence.
Health
Over-treatment is aggravating the condition. Left alone it would be a minor complaint; stop where you are, and look for the right direction instead.
Travel
Chasing a name in distant places leaves you with less of one. Stay where you are and watch how things develop.
Advice
When the fire starts, the first thing to do is put down the wood.