Cao Pi Proclaims Himself Emperor
Neutral
The poem
Original: 志气功业在朝朝 / 今将酒色不胜饶 / 若见金鸡报君语 / 钱财福禄与君招
The story
Cao Pi was Cao Cao's second son. Cao Cao held the emperor in his hand all his life without taking the title; Cao Pi deposed the last Han emperor and made himself ruler of Wei. Wei did not last: a few decades later Sima Yan did the same thing to the Wei throne and founded the Jin. What is taken one way is generally lost the same way.
What it means
The image is ambition and reputation, and keeping to the ordinary brings good fortune. The work is done day by day, and at present drink and pleasure are eating into it. When the golden cockerel brings you word, money and fortune arrive together. The sign grants you the ability and warns you about the holding of it, since whether you keep what you gain depends on self-restraint. Hold to your hours and your part, and success comes knocking of itself.
By area of life
Wealth
Avoid greed above everything else. Greed is usually the precise place where an otherwise sound investment ends up going wrong.
Love
Avoid straying. An affair here empties a happy relationship of everything that made it worth having in the first place.
Work
Even with congenial work and a flourishing business, moderation in daily life cannot be dispensed with if prosperity is to last.
Health
Regular hours matter enormously here. Without restraint in food and in daily habits the condition will certainly get much worse.
Travel
Diligence abroad brings real prosperity. Guard carefully against slackening, or sinking into indulgence, once a degree of comfort has arrived.
Advice
You have talent enough; the test now is whether you can restrain yourself.