favorite I Ching??

Rhinemaiden

As Chinese New Year approaches this weekend (entering the year of the snake), I've gotten out my favorite I Ching oracles...

-- Holitzka I Ching

http://www.amazon.com/I-Ching-Holitzka-Deck-Games-Systems/dp/1572811161

I love this deck for the oh-so-simple, yet deeply evocative black on white art... with a single red dot and beautiful gold accents on each card.

-- The I Ching Pack by Anthony Clark and Richard Gill

http://www.amazon.com/Ching-Pack-Bo...&qid=1360274718&sr=1-3&keywords=clark+i+ching

This set is new to me, but published in 1983. I discovered it recently in a tarot blog and was very taken with the art.

What are YOUR favorite I Ching decks/sets, methods of divination?
 

frac_ture

I recently got myself the TAO Oracle deck and book -- this deck is based on the I Ching. I love the artwork, but I know nothing about the I Ching beyond the general overall concept, so I'm only just starting out on my explorations of this system. I did, however, make a trip just yesterday into Chinatown here in LA, and I got myself some Chinese coins specifically for use with the deck, and I'm looking forward to getting better acquainted with it.

Oh, and here's where you can find the TAO Oracle webpage.
 

Richard

I just do the coin oracle using three old Chinese coins (not that ordinary Lincoln pennies wouldn't work just as well). My favorite text is still the first one I bought, many years ago, a lovingly preserved, hardbound edition of the Wilhelm-Baynes translation.
 

rachelcat

Ooo, an I Ching decks thread! Goodie!

The Holitzka is beautiful, but I guess it's too spare for me.

The Gill I Ching Pack is lovely, too, but I traded it away because the illustrations didn't really go with the hex meanings I'm most comfy with.

For readings, I go with the Tao Oracle or I Ching of Love, which is charming and colorful, but informative, too.

I also have I Ching Tarot (Kwan Lau), also cheery and colorful.

And I Ching Dead Moon. Haven't tried reading with that one yet. It's not my normally favorite art style, and don't think it's really readable, but there's something special about it . . . http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/i-ching-dead-moon/

(I hope I'm enabling people right NOW!) :)
 

devilkitty

I use fifty 12" bamboo skewers with the points clipped (yarrow stalks are a little tricky to come by) and do it the "long way". I find it quite meditative and it gives the universe more time to talk.

As for preferred translations: I once used the Wilhelm/Baynes, but switched to Alfred Huang's translation around eight years ago and never looked back. I do have a shirt-pocket Thomas Cleary that I keep in my daily bag, but it's quite literal (and I don't recommend it unless you're willing to get a good handle on Confucian and Taoist philosophy!).
 

Chronata

My favorite current method is to use the stone number set I made originally for reading the Sabian Symbols.

It's pretty much just stones with the numbers one through thirty written on them...and I choose three per line...Odd numbers are Yin, and Even are Yang, and three of the same indicate a moving line.

then I grab the I Ching of Mi-Lo...which is a delightful and sometimes snarky version written by Lon Milo DuQuette (from his Ordinary Oracles book)

I keep saying I'm going to get a more traditional translation, but so far this one has been pretty awesome for me.
 

kalliope

I don't have any I Ching decks, but that Holitzka looks nice. It's on my wishlist now. :)

I tend to either use the 16 marble method or the 2-coin method, and increasingly I Ching websites or apps. (Here's the methods website with a navigable table of contents. )

My favorite online reading is Online Clarity, which works well on even mobile phones, offers two translations, and allows you to download a PDF of your reading. If you have an Android device, you might want to look at my posts here and here.

I have a TON of books, but here are my favorites (I found many of these by reading the thoughtful reviews on the Online Clarity site):
---Karcher's I Ching Plain & Simple is fantastic, and the "love" version is fun, too (Symbols of Love.)
---Balkin's Laws of Change is a favorite for the tone of his advice
---for short and practical readings, I like Secter's The I Ching Handbook,
---Huang's is my favorite serious translation
---McElroy's I Ching for Beginners is a fun modern and practical take

Chronata, I didn't know Duquette had an I Ching book! Thank you for mentioning it!
 

Richard

Since my last post, I've started using these "marbles," which Alta recommended in another thread.
 

Attachments

  • marbles.jpg
    marbles.jpg
    36.7 KB · Views: 203

kalliope

LRichard said:
Since my last post, I've started using these "marbles," which Alta recommended in another thread.
Click to expand...

Those look great! Could you point me to the thread, or to where you purchased them?
 
Endora doesn't like me :( Deck question! Grand Oracle Celtique by Alan Borvo?!?