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You will find a great variety of articles and guides on our site, from short topical guides and how-to-do-it instructions to articles that look at I Ching, divination and culture in depth. We also offer e-books and consultation programs.
This Quick Guide is a whirlwind tour. It is designed to give those new to the Yijing (I Ching) a basic understanding of how to use it and how to think about it. We would strongly recommend that you read our more detailed introduction by clicking here.
Table of Contents
What is the Yijing (I Ching)?
The Yijing or I Ching is an ancient Chinese oracle book, a traditional source of wisdom and creative thinking. The text of the Yijing is organised through a set of 64 six-line figures or Hexagrams. These hexagrams are the link between your question and the divinatory texts that answer it.Top of Page
How should I use the Yijing?
The Yijing gives advice to questions put to it. Think of it as a personal mentor or helping spirit.Top of Page
How do I consult the Yijing?
The consultation process is simple: find a quiet place, formulate a question, cast the stones or coins, look up the resulting hexagram(s) and interpret the results. The program on the website can help you do this.Top of Page
What sort of Questions should I ask?
The best type of questions are open ended ones, as opposed to closed questions which dictate a 'Yes' or 'No' answer. Let’s look at an example, which will make it clear. Closed Question: Does my girl friend love me? Open Question: What about my relationship? What is happening there and how can I help it develop? You can find advice about this at the Question of the Question.Top of Page
Are there any Questions I should not ask?
Yes, in general you should not ask questions that have a greedy or manipulative intent or invade other people’s privacy without their permission. Make sure your own motives are in order.Top of Page
How do I get my questions answered?
In short, you cast. Casting is the process of generating a hexagram to answer your Question.Top of Page
What should I use to cast?
In ancient times the sages or shamans used yarrow stalks. Over time coins, stones and even computers came to be used. All appear to work. The Coin method is the most readily available. The program uses a variety of methods automatically, depending on the sort of answer you need.Top of Page
How do I cast?
A very good way to divine is the 16 Token Method. It preserves the statistical odds of the earlier Yarrow Stalk Method and much of its elegance. However in the 12th Century BCE the Coin Method became popular in China and we give it here for the sake of completeness.
Take any three similar sized coins hold in your hand whilst contemplating the question. Then cast them onto a table. Heads have a value of 3 and tails have a value of 2. If you are using Chinese coins it is up to you to choose which sides is 'heads' and which is 'tails'. The coins are cast six times, adding up the values each time to generate a line the hexagram. The hexagram is generated starting from the bottom line and working to the top. The four types of lines you might get are all are illustrated below. Let’s look at an example. The question is: What would the Change like to say to you?
Cast
Heads / Tails
Number
Line Type
Yin / Yang
Line Symbol
1
T T T
2+2+2=6
changing supple line
old yin
2
H H T
3+3+2=8
unchanging supple line
young yin
3
T T H
2+2+3=7
unchanging strong line
young yang
4
H H H
3+3+3=9
changing strong line
old yang
5
6
The hexagram is built up from the bottom, so we must reverse the order when we write it down. This results in the following Primary Figure or Hexagram:
Changing lines are either Old Yang or Old Yin. They are located in positions 1 and 4 in our example. The Relating Hexagram is derived using these changing lines. Each changing line becomes its opposite i.e. solid lines become broken and broken lines become solid.Top of Page
What is decimal notation?
Top of Page
How do I interpret my reading?
First you need a copy of the Yijing. There are many Yijings out there and just like people they come in all sorts. The translation in the program provides you with one of the best. If you are new to Yijing we would also recommend: The I Ching Plain and Simple: A Guide to Working with the Oracle of Change, by Stephen Karcher or see our favourites for other recommendations.
The basic reading can have up to three components depending on whether or not there are changing lines. In the above example, we have all three components:
Primary Hexagram: The Primary Figure or Hexagram offers a basic answer to your question. It describes an overall situation and suggests strategies to effectively understand and deal with it. Here it would talk about a powerful source of energy and guidance entering your life.
Relating Hexagram: The Relating Figure or Hexagram shows how you are related to the situation presented by the Primary Figure. It is the sea in which the primary figure swims, setting the atmosphere of the entire reading. It can represent future potential, overriding concerns, a warning, a goal, a desired outcome or a past situation that brought you to the present situation. Here it speaks of a process that is already underway. All you have to do is watch over it and co-operate with it.
Changing Lines: The Changing or Transforming Lines show the particular places where change is occurring. They focus on giving you advice about how to understand the changes and how to deal with them. Here they speak of the first stirrings of a creative influence (line 1) and how it can simply follow your thoughts and eliminate the potential causes of sorrow you may be feeling (line 4).Top of Page