The Plum Blossoms Twice
Neutral
The poem
Original: 冬来岭上一枝梅 / 叶落枝枯终不摧 / 但得阳春悄急至 / 依然还我作花魁
The story
After Mei Kui was murdered, his son was rescued and hidden in the house of his father's friend Chen Risheng under another name. One day, with the plum in flower, Chen made an offering to his dead friend, praying that his line would rise; that night wind and rain stripped the tree. Chen, his daughter Xingyuan and the boy prayed again, and the plum bloomed a second time.
What it means
The image is the plum taking first place among flowers, and delay here is favourable. Bare and dry on the ridge, the tree is not broken but waiting. The bleakness belongs to the season, not to your capacity, and forcing a bloom in winter only damages the root. An arrow shot at empty sky is not shot at nothing, for the prize is inside the waiting. Keep your character and your strength intact, and when the warmth returns you are the first branch open.
By area of life
Wealth
Move carefully now. Spring is the season of harvest; for the present the work is storing up rather than spending.
Love
You are in the middle of winter. When spring comes round the match will present itself of its own accord.
Work
Strong in spring, low in autumn. Work with the season, and use the quiet stretch to train what is still unfinished.
Health
Winter cold has to be endured, and the warmer weather improves things. Give attention to the state of your mind as well.
Travel
Wait for spring and start then. Departing at the right season is what makes the journey build anything at all.
Advice
A plum that does not flower in winter is not dead; it is keeping an appointment.