The Kanji of 2025 was 'Tan' (Search)
Hello, this is Rantan Saito.
When asked what the Kanji of the year was, I knew it had to be this one.
The Kanji for 2025 is 'Tan' (Search).
Here is what I was searching for.
◆ Cat went missing
Actually, one of my pet cats ran away from home this summer 😭
To be honest, it still hasn't shown itself.
The I Ching hexagram I drew to divine this year's fortune was 'Kan-i-Sui' (The Abysmal Water).
Contrary to my expectations, I had many fun times and lively moments with many people, but whenever I was alone, I felt a sense of worry and anxiety about my cat clinging to the depths of my heart, heavy and cold like the bottom of a dark well.
Moreover, when it first went missing, my family couldn't stay calm, and the atmosphere became incredibly tense with shouting matches, making it uncomfortable to be at home... I regained my sanity soon after, realizing this wasn't the time for such things, but wow, it was abnormal.
I tried everything from flyers and posters to various methods to get a cat to return, but the reality didn't change... I'm now in a state where I have no choice but to wait.
Unfortunately, this 'searching' might continue, but I want to hold onto hope without giving up.
(Oh, despite this situation, I am doing just fine and staying strong, so please don't worry about me 🥰)
◆ Searching for new divination methods
Next, 'searching for new divination methods' is also one of the events that symbolized this year.
Since around the autumn of 2024, I had been thinking about trying other divination methods, so I had everyone divine for me at a tarot practice session. As it turned out, I was told with a fair probability that 'your palm reading is good' and 'Sanmeigaku seems like it will take time to master'.
So, I decided to do palm reading as advised, but honestly, I felt a bit discouraged about Sanmeigaku 🤣 and was thinking of excluding it from my options for 2025.
However, I changed my mind after drawing the Kan-i-Sui hexagram for my annual divination.
At first, I was disappointed, thinking everything would go wrong, but I decided to take advantage of it (out of desperation) by thinking that if my fortune was to have everything go wrong anyway, I might as well do something where it's expected that things won't go well 😇
I was also told it was a good time to study, so this is killing two birds with one stone.
In reality, I've been blessed with good teachers for both palm reading and Sanmeigaku, and I'm enjoying learning them little by little while understanding them at my own pace. Maybe not having strange expectations is a good thing too ✨
◆ I also searched for various small things...
Besides that, I was tasked with selecting gifts for retiring employees, which I don't usually do, so I ran around searching for presents, and I also searched for the right distance to keep from someone with whom I had developed a rift for some reason...
Looking back, I'm usually the type to think while running, but this year I felt like it was a year where I proceeded by groping around and checking the feel of things around me.
Maybe it was a year to learn about those kinds of emotions.
I experienced various patterns of searching—some fun, some not—but I hope the day comes when I can laugh and talk about it as a memory ✨