I Ching Analysis of the Perugian Murder Night

"Life must be life's parent,  ever."

"Blood,  though it sleep a time,  never dies;  The gods on murderers fix revengeful eyes."

 My blog is entitled "Musing"  because that is the kind of journalism I wanted to do here,  as a blogger.  In terms of the Amanda Knox case,  I have blogged on it as an interested thinker,  a philosopher,  and as one who has read a great deal of psychoanalytic critique and analysis.  I am not covering it as an investigative reporter,  nor as a legal or psychological expert.  My interest is personal and speculative:  I seek to comprehend the psychological underpinnings and dynamic of such an act of supreme evil ( allegedly by Amanda Knox,  Raffaele Sollecito,  and Rudy Guede)  on so innocent and undeserving a victim (Meredith Kercher).

My editor at GnosisArts Multimedia Communications ,  Eric Bryant,  often writes  - in OpEd pieces  -  critical analytic commentary about some important political or cultural matter,  based on consulting the I Ching regarding it.  He is a Philosophical Practitioner,  and a member of the American Philosophical Practioners Association.  This movement was spearheaded by philosophy professor and renowned author,  Lou Marinoff,  of City University of New York.  I am not a formal practicioner,  but I am a philosophical scholar,  and have read Marinoff and attended some of his conferences.  I  became intrigued in the late '90s with his advocacy of the I Ching not only as a book of ancient Chines philosophical wisdom,  but  as a serious contemplative tool;  and have studied the Legge,  Wilhelm,  Lynn,  editions,  among others.  During the 2008 Presidentail election season,  I consulted it often regarding Barack Obama,  and was stunned by its accuracy  ( posts regarding these consultations are in this blog's archives).

So after some  hesitancy I decided to consult it regarding the Perugian murder of Meredith Kercher,  allegedly at the hands of Amanda Knox,  Rafaelle Scolocitto, and Rudy Guede.  Below are the hexagrams and lines I received,  with commentary.  Once again,  the received answer was eerily applicable to the situation.

I adhere to Carl Jung's theory that although the "moving"  lines one receives are of paramount importance,  all of the lines apply as part of the overarching theme of the hexagram.  My question was:  What were the true circumstances involving these suspects on the night in question?  The I Ching ( Legge, Wilhelm,  and Lynn  Translations and Commentarys applied )   replied:

Hexagram 62 :  Preponderance of the Small
The flying bird brings the message that it is good to stay low,  it is dangerous to fly high.     The flying bird is losing its voice.  ( eerily,  the Lynn version has these words of Wang Bi:  "this denotes a funeral.")


Changing lines:  3 and 5

Line 3:  The third line,  undivided,  shows the subject taking no extraordinary precautions against danger,  and some in consequence finding opportunity to assail and injure him.  There will be evil.  


Line 5:  The fifth line,  divided,  suggests the idea of dense clouds,  but no rain yet from the western border.    It shows the prince shooting his arrow,  and taking the bird in his cave.  


[Line 6:  The sixth line,  divided,  shows a bird exceeding its proper course, and flying far aloft.  There will be calamity and evil.  This is disaster and self-injury. ]


Analysis:  The idea of the hexagram is a warning to stay low,  to not fly high.  This to me bears on the fact that Amanda and Raffaele were flying too "high";  not only on drugs,  but on a wave of exhiliration and a feeling of wild rebellion.    Line 3 is eerily relevant to Meredith's lack of awareness as to the danger Amanda posed.  She believed they could argue and have differences in a reasonable way and with no grave consequences.  She was completely oblivious to the dangerous anger building up within her "friend".

Line 5 is difficult to decipher.  I believe it is either pointing to what the prosecution's theory would later be  (i.e.,  grasping the underpinnings of Knox and Raeffaele's dangerous dynamic) .  The western border would point symbolically  to the law,  courts,  the light of facts and the ethics of reason.  The cave appears to be that which is hidden and submerged.  The prosecution has taken the "bird", but in a sub-textual manner.

Line 6 was not a changing line.  However,  as per Jung's theory,  the top line of the hexagram is often a warning of a potential outcome if current trends continue.  I think the "self-injury"  was the calamitous evil brought down on their own heads (AK, RS).  Perhaps it also indicates the innocent Meredith,  still unaware of just how out of control and capable of evil were the characters of her "friends",  that she may have "provoked"  the fatal knife thrust (i.e.,  saying  (quite reasonably,  but she was not dealing with reasonable people)  something such as ,  "I will definitely report you all to the police.".