What can you tell me about the I Ching? How is it used for divining? I saw a set for it at Barnes and Nobles today.
Ok sorry if I’m confusing! I still have my whole life to study the
I Ching, I am far from fully grasping it.
The
I Ching in its modern form is millenniums of commentary atop the original text. The original text comes from the most ancient of Chinese sages, considered ancient even during Confucius’s time.
the original sages originally recorded 8 sets of trigrams (set of three lines). When you cast a fortune, you get two trigrams, a hexagram. Each individual line, trigram, and hexagram has a specific meaning. The trigrams are complete images. The original sages attained for us these images, mystery surrounding the true origin of course.
So the
I Ching has developed as a commentary on these images.
When you buy an I Ching, it’ll come with a chart like this
And the book will be commentary on what these different hexagrams mean.
My advice is to get a supplementary book to your
I Ching, a book that is specifically a supplementary book to the
I Ching. I have a Confucian
I Ching, Taoist
I Ching, had a Buddhist
I Ching (gave away), as well as a fourth book that is specifically a guide to my Taoist one. If I didn’t have the guide book, well the
I Ching commentaries use rather convoluted language let’s just say. For example, my Taoist commentary gets really into metaphysics and spiritual alchemy, while my Confucian one uses thick language, so the simplified guide just really helps. (For me at least)
As for how to actually cast the fortune, you just need three coins. You toss the coins 6 times to receive a complete hexagram. If you buy an
I Ching it will come with the specific instructions, it’s rather simple once you get the hang of it. Once you have a hexagram, you just read the commentaries of the hexagram, trigrams, and lines you got. Oh, you get a present hexagram, and depending on what it is, you can also get a future hexagram.
Practicing it is obviously the best way to get a better understanding. Know that when you are consulting the
I Ching, you are consulting the universal sage. The sage that is within you. The
I Ching has always answered me intelligently, made me a firm believer.
Lot of reading is involved.