SabahTheLoner
Master of the Art of Couch Potato Cuddles
What is I Ching?
The I Ching, or the Book of Change, is a Chinese book and divination system based on 8 combinations of three yin or yang represented as solid or broken lines and combined in pairs to make "hexagrams". Traditionally readings were recorded by throwing yarrow sticks and translated by looking up the corresponding hexagrams from the readings and giving advice on the situation. Today, there are many creative ways to read I Ching from numerology to dice to taking two random items in the house to understand the situation, however the most tangible and popular method for this divination is the three-coin method.
Three coin toss and reading
All you need is at least one copy/translation of the I Ching (or the internet equivalent) and any three coins. Literally any three coins will do (I use pennies) but some people like to buy Chinese coins for the feel of authentic divination.
Before you look through the I Ching, take your three coins and toss them. Record the result and repeat 5 more times.
There are a few ways to read the coins. You can have any four combinations of coins, and there are different ways to record the result. You could just write how many coins are head or tails, or you could assign the numbers 2 and 3 to each side (all heads are either 2 or 3, and all tails are the other value). For this example all heads are 2 and all tails are 3. The results can be as follow;
- The number 6 (or three heads); old yin (changes to yang)
- The number 7 (or two heads and a tail); new yang (remains as yang)
- The number 8 (or one head and two tails); new yin (remains yin)
- The number 9 (or three tails); old yang (changes to yin)
Yang is a solid line and yin is a broken line. If you have old yin or yang, change them to their opposite before reading. To record your results, you must build the hexagram from the ground up to get an accurate reading, like a house stabding up from the earth, not a bee hive hanging from a tree. Think about it as stacking books.
After you receive the hexagram, consult the I Ching using the trigram chart in the book or on the internet. Look for the lower or bottom element before the upper or top one.
(Example of trigram chart)
Example reading
Let's say someone is having problems with their friendship with another person and wants to consult the I Ching to understand what they need to do differently in the situation. Using the numeral coin system, they toss three coins six times and get the following;
1st - 7 (yang)
2nd - 8 (yin)
3rd - 9 (yang to yin)
4th - 8 (yin)
5th - 6 (yin to yang)
6th - 7 (yang)
The 3rd and 5th numbers are old energies, so in translating the numbers to trigrams they must be converted to new energy of their opposite. Everything else stays as yin or yang.
The trigram is built up, so we get the following;
According to the reading, our person in question is probably having problems within the friendship because they have been overly selfish and/or not controlling wealth (perhaps not of money, more likely social or material wealth) in a responsible way. If this person is doing the reading by themself, they should take actions to increase the wealth of happiness by adopting a healthier balance of their overall wealth share a portion of it with others, including their friend. Perhaps the situation arose from an overspending of a fortune, or not enough, to have a balance of material and social happiness, and a lack of understanding why an unfortunate event took place. If the person is seeking help from a medium, the medium should suggest similar things as they read the hexagram suggestions. For I Ching it is recommended to read multiple translations to gain a clear understanding of what is being suggested and think of the problem in different scopes. The I Ching is so flexible and vast that it can literally be studied. After the reading it is best to give some thought to how you should change before taking action. Perhaps meditate on the hexagram for a few days before reaching a conclusion.
I hope you guys enjoy this guide!
The I Ching, or the Book of Change, is a Chinese book and divination system based on 8 combinations of three yin or yang represented as solid or broken lines and combined in pairs to make "hexagrams". Traditionally readings were recorded by throwing yarrow sticks and translated by looking up the corresponding hexagrams from the readings and giving advice on the situation. Today, there are many creative ways to read I Ching from numerology to dice to taking two random items in the house to understand the situation, however the most tangible and popular method for this divination is the three-coin method.
Three coin toss and reading
All you need is at least one copy/translation of the I Ching (or the internet equivalent) and any three coins. Literally any three coins will do (I use pennies) but some people like to buy Chinese coins for the feel of authentic divination.
Before you look through the I Ching, take your three coins and toss them. Record the result and repeat 5 more times.
There are a few ways to read the coins. You can have any four combinations of coins, and there are different ways to record the result. You could just write how many coins are head or tails, or you could assign the numbers 2 and 3 to each side (all heads are either 2 or 3, and all tails are the other value). For this example all heads are 2 and all tails are 3. The results can be as follow;
- The number 6 (or three heads); old yin (changes to yang)
- The number 7 (or two heads and a tail); new yang (remains as yang)
- The number 8 (or one head and two tails); new yin (remains yin)
- The number 9 (or three tails); old yang (changes to yin)
Yang is a solid line and yin is a broken line. If you have old yin or yang, change them to their opposite before reading. To record your results, you must build the hexagram from the ground up to get an accurate reading, like a house stabding up from the earth, not a bee hive hanging from a tree. Think about it as stacking books.
After you receive the hexagram, consult the I Ching using the trigram chart in the book or on the internet. Look for the lower or bottom element before the upper or top one.
(Example of trigram chart)
Example reading
Let's say someone is having problems with their friendship with another person and wants to consult the I Ching to understand what they need to do differently in the situation. Using the numeral coin system, they toss three coins six times and get the following;
1st - 7 (yang)
2nd - 8 (yin)
3rd - 9 (yang to yin)
4th - 8 (yin)
5th - 6 (yin to yang)
6th - 7 (yang)
The 3rd and 5th numbers are old energies, so in translating the numbers to trigrams they must be converted to new energy of their opposite. Everything else stays as yin or yang.
The trigram is built up, so we get the following;
6th toss; yang ___
5th toss; yang ___
4th toss; yin _ _
3rd toss; yin _ _
2nd toss; yin _ _
1st toss; yang ___
According to the graph above, our hexagram number is 42. Here is an image from the internet explaining the reading. 5th toss; yang ___
4th toss; yin _ _
3rd toss; yin _ _
2nd toss; yin _ _
1st toss; yang ___
I hope you guys enjoy this guide!