I Ching or the book of changes is an ancient divination text book. It’ the world’s oldest wisdom book, used to predict the future’s events and one of the greatest Chinese books ever written.

The I Ching has served for thousands of years as a guide to an ethical life, a manual for rulers, and a prediction of one’s future. In incident China and East Asia, I Ching has been the most consulted of all books, as it was believed that it can explain everything. It has been known for over three hundred years in the West and surely it is the most popularly recognized Chinese book. With its interpretations, there has never been a book like it anywhere.

I Ching is a philosophical matrix, a divination methodology, and it contains a lot of historical events which are hidden among the book’s hexagrams and lines. This book has influenced some of China’s greatest thinkers and has played extremely important role in Taoism and Confucianism. It is one of the “five ancient classics” and probably the oldest written form of known divination in the world.

This book has been offering people help and wise, and divine guidance for generations. The book is divided into 64 chapters or hexagram, each hexagram is a pile of six lines, either broken or solid.

Each inquiry will form a hexagram reading and a hexagram has six changing lines. Each hexagram is made up of two trigrams and there are eight possible trigrams. Each trigram is made up of three lines. Each line is either broken or solid, corresponding to the complementary Yin which is negative and Yang which is positive. Three Chinese coins are used for the throws. Each throw creates one line of the hexagram. Thus, six throws decide a hexagram. One side of the coin (head) represents a two and the other side (tail) represents a three. These numbers are added to determine the result of the throw as follows:

How to form a hexagram?

• 6 (3 tails) is a changing yin and is drawn as a broken line with an X in the middle (broking changing line becomes solid)
• 9 (3 heads) is a changing yang and is drawn as a solid line with a circle in the middle (solid changing line becomes broken)
• 7 (2 tails, 1 head) is an unchanging yang, and is drawn as a solid line.
• 8 (2 heads, 1 tail) is an unchanging yin and is drawn as a broken line.

How to interpret hexagrams?

On a piece of paper, ask your open-ending question and start toss your 3 coins 6 times and write the corresponding line whether broken or solid and once your first hexagram is formed, find the matching hexagram pattern from I Ching book and read the description of this hexagram pattern

If you don’t have a copy of I Ching book, you can go online and find a list of hexagram interpretations and search your hexagram pattern to see what the answer to your question is.

You can also use a hexagram calculator by inputting the result of each coins toss and once you finish up entering results for 6 lines, the calculator will locate the proper hexagram for you and give you the meaning.

We could all probably use some wise, enduring life lessons that have been around and practiced since 2,850 BC, right? Especially when it comes to needing help making major life decisions and advice on how to apply a workable, balanced approach to any situation. And that’s exactly what can happen if we apply the teachings of The I-Ching or “Book of Changes.”

So, what exactly is The I-Ching? Well, it originated in ancient China and was founded on the philosophy of Taoism. The I-Ching promotes unity, harmony, balance, and wholeness through a spiritual living and awareness. Its teachings have survived centuries and are used in so many spiritual and psychic practices and tarot card readings today.

Understanding Taoism

Understanding The I-Ching means also understanding the practice of Taoism. What is meant by the term Taoism? Taoism suggests that instead of aspiring for perfection, one should instead aspire to travel towards a state of wholeness. It teaches way of balance and harmonizing towards the ultimate reality or spirituality. It’s not just a set of ancient ideas, but also a way of using those ideas in the present…for a more harmonious state of being.

Can The I-Ching Be Used for Fortune-Telling?

The writings and philosophies in the I-Ching were written mostly to focus on the here and now. However, the texts can predict probably outcomes from how we take the words and wisdom and use them in our everyday lives to enhance our future. Obviously, it can’t predict the future, but it’s writings can be used to help you find new solutions and ideas that can help shape your future.

How Can The I-Ching be Used for a Reading?

The whole process in which we use The I-Ching for a reading can get a bit complex. To explain it in a bit simpler way, a random method of divination is used, allowing relevant text to be chosen by your subconscious. It’s a technique that allows you to bypass your ego, which usually is responsible for blocking your true insight. And this allows the text of The I-Ching to tap into your subconscious needs, wisdom, and desires.

In order to gain the most amount of clarity from a reading, it’s ideal to ask a specific question that is of deepest concern to you or about a current issue that has been bothering you. Because The I-Ching will reflect this back to you regardless of what it is you’re asking.

I-Ching readings are beneficial if you’re looking to align with your inner truth, act with purpose and faith, and boost your creative potential. And reading and studying the wisdom and philosophies within the text can help set you on a more truthful and self-aware path.

Traditional methods indicate I Ching readings entail heavy labor – requiring the collection of fifty stem stalks of the yarrow plant. Modern methods are more straightforward, simply asking for a series of coin tosses using three coins that feature heads and tails imagery. Both methods ask for this to be repeated six times to represent each line of a hexagram.

If you decide to go with the coins technique and the coins you are using don’t have clear heads and tails imagery, decide for yourself which side will represent heads and which side will represent tails and ensure you stick with this decision throughout your use of them. You will need to assign each side a numerical value – heads is usually a 3, and tails is a 2.

When casting the I Ching, you will need to have a clear focus on your end goal.

Briefly shake the coins in your hands, holding them loosely. Once you have done this, release them, all the while continuing to focus on your end goal. Using the numeric value that you have assigned to each side of the coin, record the numbers you have landed on and total them up to determine a starting number.

Each number will represent a specific line formation. Please see what the lines should look like in the image below.

Repeat the process of tossing the coins a further five times. Continue to record the coin combinations, total number, and corresponding line each time.

The result will be that you’ve created a hexagram, which will be your present hexagram. You must create a future hexagram by changing all the lines marked with an ‘x’ or a ‘o’ to their opposition. Just like Yin and Yang, a broken line (‘x’) can be flipped into a solid line (its opposite)—and solid lines (‘o’) can be flipped into the Yin lines.

The I Ching translates to ‘Book of Changes’, and as you might expect, refers to the changes that are constantly happening all around us. When casting the I Ching, if you do not create any changing lines when creating your hexagram, this is an indication that conditions relating to the subject for which you are casting the I Ching are secure at present.

Next, you can locate your hexagram numbers and, as a result, receive your interpretation, using the hexagram table we have included above. This is done using only the changing lines. (As a bonus, you are able to view the hexagram artwork in the process.) The Visionary I Ching app does most of the leg work here.

For more references and books on the subject, it’s worth reading Paul O’Brien’s evocatively illustrated and in-depth The Visionary I Ching. It’s a great update of the original text, and it is also now available as an eBook.

There are, of course, other options, ones that clean up the archaic language of the original as well as the gender bias. Some, however, only paraphrase the original text in a vague way. The most famous is the Baynes/Wilhelm version, but it’s very much of its time (the 19^th century) and, because most Chinese texts around that time were first translated into German, is slightly Germanic in tone. It’s possible also too faithful to the original – this is admirable, of course, but also makes it highly inaccessible.

The I Ching also known as Book of Changes. It is an ancient Chinese divination text. Book of Changes was written around 1000 BC. Although it is thousands of years old, I Ching is one of the most sophisticated divination systems ever devised. the Book of Changes has been used by Chinese political and military leaders, as a source of guidance and wisdom, and as a tool to assist in strategic decision-making.

Talking about the benefits of I Ching consulting to make better decisions, here are some of the benefits of giving yourself an I Ching reading.

I Ching Benefits

The I Ching divination system was a human original change management tool. When it comes to a strategic decision-making tool, the I Ching guides us to enthuse our intuition, boost our creativity, improve our timing and make better decisions.

Make better decisions

Our level of success and happiness in all areas of life is measured by how good the decisions we make. No matter how much information you have, it’s normal to have doubts about whether you’re making the best decision or not.

Consulting the I Ching makes dilemmas easier to resolve. In addition, I Ching provide us with support to help make decisions easier to live with. Stressful situations transform into definite opportunities, and confusing relationships can take a turn toward greater clarity and understanding.

Mental relaxation

Studies have proven that focused relaxation is the best state of mind for intuition and creativity. The I Ching allows you to focus on personal importance issues with less stress aligning the conscious and subconscious mind so that they can coordinate with each other and connect with the spiritual dimension for extreme wisdom and effectiveness.

Accepting changes and taking tough choices

I Ching is not just a book of wisdom; it will also help you accepting changes and make tough choices easily. Through I Ching readings, it is possible to foresee events and adjust our actions and choices accordingly. Imaging how would your life change if you knew the events’ outcome in advance?

For example, if you are applying for the same job in two different companies. Both companies offer you same position with same salary and benefits. However, you still need to know which working environment will work best for you and which one is hard to bear. Of course, knowing the answer, will help you make a better decision.

I Ching seems extraordinary to me, in terms of its ability to multiply uncertainties, in its demonstrated efficacy whether by accident or by design. And if I still use this ancient divination tool, it is not because I want to escape from reason into the irrationality, nor is it because I believe the book contains a deep wisdom. Instead, it is the fact that the I Ching repeatedly prompts me to go beyond false certainties.

Have you ever read the I Ching? If so, what do you think about the book? If not, what are your thoughts about the book so far?

     Not a lot of people are familiar with I Ching, also known as the “Book of Changes”. It is an ancient divination tool utilized by the Chinese for at least three or four thousand years, and an I Ching reading is just one of the many services I and other readers on the PsychicOz network offer.

I Ching began with reading turtle shell markings. That evolved into seers throwing yarrow sticks and interpreting how they landed. Today, the process has been simplified using three coins. The coins are thrown six times. Each toss creates a broken “line” and after the six lines are made, a “hexagram” is the result. The hexagram then references the interpretation—both contemporary and traditional. The interpretations have a way of being both practical, deeply esoteric, and spiritual at the same time. Often, the question we ask doesn’t receive a direct answer, but the answer that is relevant and necessary.

I Ching Readings are all About Change

The I Ching is all about change—the yin and yang, continuous flow, the masculine and feminine, and cycles within cycles. The I Ching defines these cycles by the use of 64 hexagrams. When a client asks for an I Ching reading, they can throw the coins or the psychic may do it. Then the reader finds the definition of the hexagram and the discussion can begin. The client may or may not wish to share the question with the psychic and that’s okay. All topics of inquiry can use this method of divination, such as relationship, work and career issues, and generally any personal situations that might be generating stress or confusion.

Addressing the Essence of an Issue

The advantage of this process is that there is no way to influence the interpretation because the coin tossing is seemingly random. This makes the reading totally objective, which can augment a somewhat subjective psychic reading. Personally, I have never found an I Ching reading to be irrelevant as they always address the essence of the issue at hand. The gift that the I Ching delivers to all who utilize its ancient wisdom is that it always appeals to our best qualities both personal and spiritual and it does so in a gentle, respectful manner.

Cutting Through the Inaccurate or the Contradictory

Sometimes, in an effort to find emotional safety or stability, people will gravitate to multiple psychics and this often results in conflicting readings and increased confusion. I have found that the I Ching is the perfect medium for cutting through the “veil” of information that is either inaccurate or contradictory.

The Return of a Partner

I once received a call from a woman who had been waiting for the return of a partner that was completely out of touch with her for over a year. All the psychics and there were many, did agree that he would be returning but their timetables had all come and gone with no positive result. I had never talked to this woman before and she seemed to be merely repeating a behavior that had not really worked for her in the past, so when I gave her a timetable she actually asked me why she should take me seriously when no other psychic had had the timing down. I couldn’t honestly answer that question to her satisfaction.

The Past Keeps You From Moving Forward

I then told her to get three coins. I asked her to toss them and give me the results—heads and tails. She repeated this five more times so I could get the hexagram. The primary message of the hexagram was this: “You wish to move on, but you are focusing on the past. You wish to cross the river but you do not want to get wet. So, you are stuck. The river represents Spirit. So take the risk and unstick yourself. Let the past go, let him go, and now embrace the present.” She got the message and it was only for her. We hung up.

She Got Her Wish

She called me back about two hours later and told me that within an hour of our talk, he actually contacted her and asked her how she was. Because of the I Ching reading she was able to say to him, “What do you want?” He was soon apologizing for his absence and the pain he was causing her. Her reading told her to let go, and the moment she did, she got her wish. It was never about him. It was all about her.

Using the I Ching over the years, I know to ask a question only once and abide by the results. I treat the method with respect and reverence. Confucius said that if he had another life to live he would devote it entirely to the I Ching.

        Anyone can agree that life can be so complicated and unpredictable… It’s only natural that many of us seek answers to comprehend our current situation and how the future may unfold. While many of us are familiar with Tarot cards, pendulum readings or even crystal ball readings, there is an ancient Chinese oracle practice called the I Ching.

What Is I Ching?

The I Ching is a complex and fascinating oracle that features a collection of wisdom that translates as the “Book of Changes.” The I Ching collection features 64 situations that are represented by a six-line hexagram.

In order to figure out which hexagram relates to your situation, you throw coins to determine each line of the hexagram and whether or not it’s whole or broken. If a line is broken, it indicates “yin” or feminine energy that is moody, earthy and passive, while an unbroken line indicates “yang” or masculine energy that is fiery, bright and active.

How to Consult the I Ching

The I Ching tradition started by “throwing” fifty yarrow stalks to determine each of the six lines of the hexagram. In current times, it is more common to throw three coins a total of six times while concentrating on your question or concern.

The hexagram is built from the bottom line to the top using values calculated by how many coins were heads up or tails up. If a coin lands heads up, it’s given a value of two. If it lands tails up, it’s given a value of three and the value of each coin is added together. If the total sum is an odd number, the line is determined to be yang and if it’s even the line is determined to be yin.

There are also changing lines, which change from yin to yang or yang to yin. It is considered a changing line when all three coins are either heads up or tails up. It’s important to know how many changing lines there are in the hexagram as that gives you further insight into how to interpret the hexagram for your situation.

When to Consult the I Ching

The I Ching is poetic parables that leave much room for personal interpretation. It’s not too different from receiving a Tarot card reading, except it focuses less on the background of your situation and more on the options that you now face and potential outcomes.

There is much to consider and interpret when consulting with the I Ching as an oracle. Many experts suggest that you work with a trained professional to guide you through this powerful tool. Working with an advisor who specializes in the I Ching will give you a deeper understanding of your reading and how it applies to your situation. They will also be able to fully illuminate the nuances of the hexagram and how it applies to your life.

Whenever you have questions regarding your current situation or which path will lead you to your desired fate, it can be illuminating to turn to the I Ching to gain clarity and wisdom.

Those who are familiar with consulting the I Ching know they can make better decision.  Regardless of where you are in relation to the Chinese New Year, you can always look back on your life goals.  There are quite a few benefits to consulting the I Ching.

If you use an I Ching reading to help make decisions, it provides you a a different perspective from which to resolve your problems.   The I Ching is a highly respected system that has worked for people for thousands of years.  Since 1000 BC, wise people and leaders have seen the I Ching as a tool for guidance and as  way to help them make decisions.

Western societies generally thing of wisdom as coming from people, i. e,; the prophets and oracles from literature.  Where the I Ching comes out on top in a comparison is that anyone can consult it, and use it as a way to help you increase your own intuition.

Benefits of I Ching

The only constant in life is change. It doesn’t matter if we like the direction in which the change is going. Change is going to happen.  We want to make the change as peaceful as possible.  The I Ching is the oldest way known to man  to manage our reaction to change.  The I Ching gives us a way to sharpen our intuition  so that we may make better decisions.

Why its important to make good decisions

Making decisions directly affects every aspect of our lives.  When we are challenged, we choose our responses. Sometimes our reasoning is impaired by emotion, and no matter how prepared we are, we usually second guess ourselves when we do make a decision.

When we consult the I Ching, we are communicating with age-old principles that can help us objectively choose our path.  It can also change our perspective on the problem.

Clear thinking 

Because consulting the I Ching requires us to create a space for the ritual, we automatically put ourselves in a less emotional state when we ask our questions.  This allows us clarity to focus on what we really want and need. By calming ourselves we can remove the problem away from us  to better approach it.

Objectivity

One of the best things about the I Ching is that it is bridge between the emotion of  your problem and the reality of your intellect. The very act of starting the process causes you distance your self from the problem.  The more removed you are, the less threatened you will feel.  When you view your problem from a distance, you will have an advantage from which to make a better choice.

Better relaxation

It is commonly known that being calm  creates the best environment for you to access your own intuition and creative side.   The I Ching will let you focus on the importance of your situation without being overly emotionally.

Intuition

Your intuition is aroused by letting your subconscious practice creating a pattern.  When you create a pattern your intuitive nature is activated.  When you examine pattern, you interpret it.  With the I Ching, its patterns will help you gain insight into your own problems

Answers with truth

To gain any benefit from an I Ching consultation, you only have to be open to the new thoughts that appear in your mind.  You do not have to believe in any new dogma. The I Ching gives you a chance to interpret your thoughts for yourself.

This system is thousands of years old and many have stated that the interpretations have given them accurate insight into their problems.

It’s not unprecedented to have the experience of a reading affirming what you definitely know – regardless of the possibility that you haven’t exactly recognized that you knew it.

Be that as it may, what do you do when the reading essentially conflicts with what you feel is correct? You’re attracted to accomplish something, you’re amped up for doing it, your expectation’s coming to fruition… and you ask Yi, and get some unspeakably negative answer. On the other hand – this transpired a couple days prior and made them consider this – you especially would prefer not to need to accomplish something, it feels all wrong, however Yi is unmistakably letting you know it’s the proper thing to do.

So I have a couple of questions about this. First, what’s happening? It’s quite normal for readings to confirm our deep knowing, and thoroughly disconcerting when they go against it. (Or maybe only appear to go against it?)

And second, how to respond? Of course, what we quite often do is to ignore the reading and do what we wanted anyway. We might come up with reasons why this reading doesn’t quite count, or doesn’t quite mean what it says, or quietly ‘forget’ it.

This may surprise you, but I actually feel that this is a good thing. We don’t, after all, consult with Yi so it can tell us what to do. It’s more… so we can be changed – become more aligned with deep reality, live more fluently, something like that. And going against a reading and getting into a nasty situation as a result (can we have a show of hands for people who’ve done that?) has to be part of the experience. It means you’re living your own life.

On the other hand, of course, this does seem perverse – not to mention disrespectful. We also don’t consult Yi so it can encourage us in our own convictions and make us feel better about doing what we planned on doing anyway – at least, I hope I don’t…

But wait.

What actually draws us to consult – why do readings happen at all? I think if you scratch the surface of the intention of a reading, you find a desire. Not necessarily a desire for a particular answer or outcome – though there’s always that, too – but a need to be answered. We want to feel held inside the container of conversation with the oracle – and we want to be encouraged and blessed in our ventures, to experience alignment and harmony, and to know we belong where we are. Somewhere under the surface of ‘Tell me what I want to hear!’ is a deep hunger for spiritual nourishment. It’s that hunger that pulls the whole reading experience into being: it impels you to ask, and draws the Yi to answer.

Now, that might sound as though the oracle were basically inert, until human desire starts things moving. But I think we know from experience that this isn’t really what happens. I quite often find a desire or call to consult simply ‘arising’ in me, apparently out of nowhere. I respond to the call, and cast a reading – and who can say what started this moving? Not I.

A reading is an upwelling of awareness and presence. You can experience that as the potent, benevolent presence of the oracle speaking to you – something that never gets less breathtaking – and as the growth of your own insight and understanding, carried on the same rising tide of presence.

A conversation I quite often have with beginners goes something like this,

Beginner: ‘When I read what it says, I get this really strong, clear feeling it’s saying this – but I’m not very good at readings, so perhaps I’m getting it wrong, so I’ve asked on the forum and read sixteen different commentaries, and the I Ching is really confusing…’

Me: ‘That really strong, clear feeling? That’s your reading happening.’

In that situation, when your understanding rises to meet and meld with the answer, it’s relatively easy to see that the whole ‘you vs Yi’ thing is an illusion: there’s just one emergent awareness. But what when Yi says one thing and your inner self says something completely different?

First, I think you need to recognise that a reading is still happening. Your hunger for connection is still active, still drawing out a single rising awareness and presence. It’s just that this awareness has layers – and they’re a long way apart, not quite ‘talking to one another’ yet.

So instead of the kneejerk response (well, my kneejerk response) of finding ways to distance yourself from the reading, you need to get more present to the whole process – to think about what you’re asking, and why, and what you really sought from the answer.

Bottom line: the answer may feel completely wrong, but it isn’t. The answer may feel alienating, but in fact you have connected with the oracle and you have an answer from Yi – of course this is a blessing; what else could it possibly be? You don’t have to understand or agree with what it says for that to be true. Maybe ask –  what if this answer were kind and benevolent – how could that be?

All of which, you know, doesn’t mean you have to ‘obey’ the reading. I actually asked Yi what it would mean to go against such a reading, and received 28.2.3 to 45. We’d be stepping outside the embrace of the ‘reading container’, acting absolutely independently, investing everything in living out our own story. And this means both living to the full – because we’re connecting with our own rejuvenated will and desire, which might just be revitalised by having a reading go against it so clearly – and also complete isolation and bringing the roof crashing down on our own heads. Which shouldn’t, on the whole, be a surprise.