First Mansion — Self-Knowledge and Humility
Teresa's first mansion in The Interior Castle is the soul's initial turning inward — the recognition that an interior life exists at all. The soul is still surrounded by 'reptiles and vermin' (worldly attachments, distractions) but has at least entered the castle. Hex 4 (Youthful Folly) captures this threshold precisely: the young fool does not yet know, but has asked the question. The hexagram's judgment — 'It is not I who seek the young fool; the young fool seeks me' — mirrors Teresa's insistence that the soul must initiate the journey. Both traditions agree: awareness of one's own ignorance is the first real movement. The difference is that Teresa frames this as grace-assisted, while the I-Ching frames it as situational. The pattern underneath: genuine seeking precedes genuine finding.