I Ching
The I Ching is an
ancient Chinese oracle
that provides an
Oriental philosophical
perspective to give
insight on situations
and problems.
"I" means change.
"Ching" means book.
Therefore I Ching means
'The Book Of Changes'.
The I Ching is both a
book and a method of
divination that
represents one of the
first efforts of humans
to grasp their
relationship to nature
and society. The I Ching
is a book of wisdom that
illustrates correct and
balanced action in a
multitude of situations.
It is a chart of
changes. The basis of
the I Ching philosophy
is that nothing is
static and that our task
is to adjust to the ebbs
and flows of change.
The I Ching has evolved
over the centuries and
is a mix of Taoist and
Confucian philosophy. It
is possibly the oldest
book in existence. Its
origins date back about
5000 years to the time
of the ruler Fu Hsi. Fu
Hsi was said to have
found the eight trigrams
that form the sixty-four
hexagrams on the shell
of a tortoise. Fu Hsi is
credited as being the
first person to give
some order to what was,
at that time, an
uncivilized culture.
were not written until
much later.
The meanings evolved
from then on but the
book was used mostly for
predicting natural
events until King Wen
wrote the first
expositions on the
sixty-four hexagrams
about 3000 years ago. He
wrote them while in
prison from a vision on
the prison wall. These
were the first comments
that included social and
political connotations.
Many renowned Chinese
philosophers such as Lao
Tzu and Confucius have
influenced the I Ching
through the centuries.
Confucius was
particularly dedicated
to the study and
application of the ideas
in the I Ching.
Each inquiry to the
oracle will result in a
hexagram reading and
possibly additional line
readings. A hexagram is
made up of two trigrams.
There are eight possible
trigrams: Ch'ien
(Cosmos), Chen
(Thunder), K'an (Water),
Ken (Mountain), K'un
(Earth), Sun
(Wind/Wood), Li (Fire),
and Tui (Lake). Each
trigram is made up of
three lines. Each line
is either broken or
solid, corresponding to
the complementary forces
Yin (negative) and Yang
(positive). Every time a
coin is thrown, one line
of the hexagram is
determined, thus, six
throws decide a
hexagram.
There are sixty-four
different hexagrams, and
each hexagram has six
changing lines, any one
of which may or may not
apply for any particular
reading. One method for
casting the oracle is to
use three Chinese coins
for the throws. Each
throw creates one line
of the hexagram. One
side of the coin
represents a two and the
other a three. These
numbers are added to
determine the result of
the throw. Changing
lines are created if
there are any
three-of-a-kind throws
(a total of six or
nine). The secondary
reading can be thought
of as changing from the
primary reading and is
only created if there
are changing lines in
the primary reading.
Solid line are (Yang)
masculine. Broken Lines
are (Yin) feminine.
