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The 16 Token Method of Casting

 

 

Many of us prefer to keep with tradition when using the Yijing. This leads to a problem of choosing which  method to use.

 

The original method was to apply a hot poker to a bone or to a Fresh Water Turtle plastron  (often translated as Tortoise). This caused cracks which could be interpreted. The results were written on the bone or plastron which had been used to divine. Click here for an example. This method had obvious limitations which may have included convenience and difficulties in obtaining shells and bones.

 

At some point an easier method was developed this was called bu shi, divination using Milfoil or Yarrow stalks. The earliest references to this were about 670 BCE. We are not absolutely sure how they originally used the Yarrow stalks to divine. The method was reconstructed by Chu Hsi in the 12th Century CE. It was about this time that the use of coins to divine with the Yi was also developed. Coins give different statistical odds to the use of  Yarrow stalks, though this does not seem to hamper the Yi in divination.

 

Recently a new method was invented that combines the best features of the two. It is as simple and direct as the coins, and preserves the specific mathematical ratios between the different kinds of lines of the yarrow stalks. It also has an elegance which throwing coins seems to lack. It is called the 16 Token Method.

 

To use this method, you need a small bowl and a total of 16 tokens (marbles are effective) of four different colors: one of the first color, three of the second color, five of the third color and seven of the fourth color. In this method, each color represents a different kind of line.

 

To use the 16 token oracle, put all sixteen tokens into a small bowl. The one token of the first color represents a yin line transforming into a yang line. The three marbles of the second color represent yang lines transforming into yin lines. The five marbles of the third color represent stable yang lines. The seven marbles of the fourth color represent stable yin lines. These ratios represent the innate tendency of yin to stay at rest and yang to move and change.

 

Now shake and mix the tokens. Without looking, pick one from the bowl. Note down the kind of line the color represents. This is the first line of your hexagram. Return the token to the bowl and pick again. Note the kind of line it represents. This is the second line of your hexagram. Repeat the procedure, each time returning the token to the bowl, until you have six lines, counting from the bottom up. This is your Primary Hexagram. If there are transforming lines, change them and create the Relating hexagram. Then use the Key to the Hexagrams to determine their names and numbers.

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