Book of Changes (I Ching)

Name: janharper

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Product:	I Ching
Date:	21.03.01 (262 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sensible advice

Disadvantages: You have to learn to use it

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is one of the oldest books in the world. It is a collection of thoughts of Chinese sages which includes both Taoism and Confucianism.

Everything is seen as either Ying or Yang, male or female, black or white.

The I Ching itself deserves some respect even if you don't believe in its ability to help you predict. It is after all, a book of wisdom. Using it as a divination tool came many years after the book itself.

If you question the I Ching about an issue that is important to you and you are looking for guidance, then you should approach this tool with an open mind.

I didn't try to predict with this but I did ask for some guidance on a particular issue and the advice thrown up was very wise and sensible. You might be suprised!
Remember that you must phrase your question carefully or you might get an answer to something else that's on your mind. The I Ching is very good at that. You can ask it something and it will talk about whatever is uppermost in your mind.

To read the I Ching you need to get hold of a set of Yarrow Stalks (available in sets with instructions). You take the fifty stalks (thin wooden sticks), or three coins, and cast them. Use the directions that come with the sticks or coins to generate numbers which are either positive or negative. (1 is positive, 2 is negative). The number are transposed into solid or broken lines and written one above the other. You get a character with six lines called a hexagram and each of these has a different meaning. There are 64 different hexagrams and each one offers different advice. You won't get straightforward, yes or no answers, so you have to really think about the answer you are given.


This all sounds very complex but it is actually much easier than you would think. There is also a set of cards available which allows you to cast an I Ching reading with coins and then refer to pictorial cards for meani
ng and guidance. This method is useful but it isn't anything like the ancient Chinese method really.

Does the I Ching work? Well, I don't know. I've never tried to predict with it, but it does give some sensible advice. You have to ponder on that advice as its cloaked in flowery and archaic language but its certainly wise.

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