The origin of the I Ching is shrouded in mystery, as seems appropriate to its content. The mythical ruler Fu Xi was said to have given character-based writing to the Chinese people, and this same Fu Xi categorized all of creation using trigrams made from yin and yang symbols. Each has three lines, solid for yang or broken for yin. All combinations of solid and broken lines yield 8 trigrams. The trigrams represent 8 elements, extensions of the European Earth, Ar, Water, and Fire; and they also represent primal qualities. By the time that the I Ching was codified, the 8 trigrams were paired in all combinations (top and bottom) to form 64 hexagrams.
Lao Tzu is generally regarded as the person who codified the Daoist creed, and he is traditionally dated to 571 BC. The I Ching was already about 400 years old at Lao Tzu’s birth, having been used as a guide for diviners and oracles in the region of China near the delta of the Yangtze, where Shanghai is today. But the form that it took in this early period has not been preserved.
All Western renderings of the I Ching, beginning with Hellmut Wilhelm in the 1930s, have freely translated not just words but whole concepts and even ideologies, framed for our modern sensibilities. My poems are an extreme in this direction, and I offer Prof. Richter’s gloss as an antidote for anyone who wishes to connect more directly with the bare bones of the Chinese text.
– JJM
Meditation practices are one path to our lost intuitions that is sanctioned by our Western culture because it has been validated by scientific methods. People who meditate are more effective in measurable ways; they are healthier and more competent; they live longer. Science has been honest enough to recognize these truths, opening a window into a pre-scientific wisdom. Yoga, tai chi, and other cultures of the physical body have also gained acceptance in the practice of psychotherapy and even in corporate culture. They work, undeniably, according to the empirical standards that science demands.
Reading the I Ching can work for you in this same way. This website is most likely to be helpful if it is integrated with practices that are already putting you in touch with your intuitive self. If you have found your way to this book, you probably already have practices to open your heart and put you in touch with an expanded self. Maybe it’s sitting meditation, or maybe it’s running or swimming or journaling or baking cookies.
There’s no sense in looking for guidance of the I Ching when you are anxious and feeling in need of someone to tell you what to do. That would be a time for patience. Return to the practices that you know will calm you and help you open to your intuitive self. Once you are there, you can approach the I Ching with a ritual that you create yourself. The traditional ritual is a template for you to adapt.
There are six lines in an I Ching hexagram, conventionally counted from bottom to top. Each line is either broken or solid, yin or yang. Six times, you will “toss” all three coins.
Focus on the three Chinese coins that were enclosed with this book. Infuse them with your trust. Wait until you feel ready to receive a message that will help and guide you.
Most often, at this point, you will already know what that message is. You will receive the message directly, without any need to go through the motion of consulting the oracle. In that case, thank the coins, thank the I Ching, and don’t pursue the ritual further. “When you have received the message, it’s time to hang up the phone.” [Alan Watts]
If you are still in doubt, proceed with the ritual. Toss all three coins and observe the result.
● Three tails is a changing yin (broken line). Three heads is a changing yang (solid line).
● Two tails and one heads is an unchanging yang [sic], a solid line. Yes, this is not a system of “majority rule”.
● Likewise, two heads and one tails is an unchanging yin, a broken line.
The changing lines create a second hexagram for “possible futures”. Usually, you need not consult the second hexagram, but if the “present” hexagram leaves you in doubt, you might try looking to “possible futures” for additional clues.
Allow plenty of time for the experience to marinate your thoughts. Elements of the text or of the drawings may stick in your mind, they may appear in a dream, or speak to you over the ensuing days in a way that helps you feel resolved.
In any case, you can’t go wrong. Your actions will accord with the Dao, and you will be rewarded with just the right lesson for your present receptivity.