This ancient practice is actually a book dated back five thousand years, containing scripts dealing with divination and wisdom in the Chinese religions. Literally, “I” means “change,” and “Ching” means “book,” thus, “The Book of Changes.” This book was composed to assist people in treating changes in their everyday lives. The I-Ching provides a soothing solution to the problems people have and offers them solace, or at least some enjoyment and excitement to take their minds off of their trying situations.
The origins of the I-Ching are believed to be from the beginning of the Chou dynasty (1120-221 B.C.E.), probably in western China. Aside from the references to divination and wisdom, the book also includes pairs of eight “trigrams.” A trigram contains three horizontal lines. In the I-Ching, there are 64 images, each of which has a completely different interpretation attached to it. Each image is really a “hexagram,” which is a set of two trigrams, stacked on top of each other.
The Yin and the Yang are involved a great deal in the readings of the pairings of the I-Ching. There are two principle ways a line can be formed: an undivided line connected to the expansive yang, or a fractured line connected to the contractive yin. The opposing forces consist of active versus passive, light versus light, and others.
How exactly is I-Ching practiced, and what does the process consist of? The critical stage is the tossing of the coins or sticks. While this is done, the subject focuses on a question in his or her mind. The reading of the hexagrams will attempt to reveal the answer to the question. In the experiments with the coins, three coins may be used, and it is the head-to-tail ratio which determines the line’s character. This is done six times to account for the entirety of the hexagram.
Imagine that you are surrounded by wise elders of the Chinese community, awaiting the diagnosis and treatment for your troubles. The coins are tossed the required amount of times, and the results recorded. The various lines of the hexagram may propose different actions to take or avoid, or simply a belief about the situation under examination.
Another important thing to consider in interpretations, is the structure of the lines. The broken lines are the yin lines while the solid lines are the yang lines. Black lines symbolize the new and unchanging while gray lines symbolize the old and changing. The yang lines are solid; yang represents the warm, bright hotness, male, white, day, summer, active, and life. The yin lines are broken; they represent the cold, black, female, winter, night, passive, death, and the dark.
There are actually two different kinds of I-Ching practices: Traditional and Original. The Traditional was begun stemming from written texts handed down to us from many years ago. The primary difficulty with the Traditional practice is that it is very brief, obscure, and old-fashioned. Contemporary I-Ching in this form contains much more interpretation than ever before, mostly in regards to this reason. The Original I-Ching gives a greater attempt to act as an oracle, or a divine authority of older times.
In the beginning, I-Ching was nothing more than an oral tradition passed down through the generations. Now it has been developed and employed for thousands of years, bringing it into greater popularity with many cultures.
When asking the i ching a question you can ask yes or no questions. There are however better ways to phrase your questions. The I Ching does not contain a response or a line that answers "Yes" or "No." But, if you ask a question that requires a yes or no answer such as, "Should I change jobs?" and you receive as an answer the kua of "Strong Restraint," your answer would be clear.
If you ask a more specific question such as what can I expect from a career move, rather than will I get a new job, the answer will hold more meaning. , t then want to ask. By thinking about the different ways to phrase your question you can recieve a more meaningful answer.
Journalling
If you plan to use the i ching often to help answers questions it is important to start journalling the questions and the date asked, that way you can come back and reflect on the answer and the actual outcome later down the track. Leave space under each question and response to come back and write in what actually happened.
I Ching Basics
Fu Hsi (pronounced foo shee), the great Chinese sage to whom the I Ching system is attributed, constructed his answers in the form of sixty-four figures, the six linear lines stacked one above the other, either undivided, or divided, called kua.
The top three lines and the bottom three lines of each of the kua are called trigrams.
Following the law of eternal change, the lines are always in motion, always moving upward. As a new line enters from the bottom, it pushes the five lines above it upward, thereby displacing the line at the top. The movement is always in time to the rhythm of the universal heartbeat, always mirroring the universe itself. Taken together, the kua and their lines represent every conceivable condition in heaven and on earth with all their states of change.
Each of the sixty-four kua can change into one another through the movement of one or more of the six lines that form the kua. This requires extra attention be paid to the changing line or lines. The transformation of the changing line to it's opposite results in a supplementary reading to the original kua formed. There are 4,096 possible combinations (64 x 64), which is said to represent every possible condition in heaven and on earth.
Each of the sixty-four kua, with their combined total of 384 lines, represents a situation or condition. Each situation or condition contains the six stages of its own evolution:
About to come into being
Beginning
Expanding
Approaching maximum potential
Peaking
Passing its peak and turning toward its opposite condition.
The kua, therefore, not only represent every conceivable situation and condition possible, but also include all their states of change.
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