I-Ching for Beginners

Thanks serena. Nice idea. I also use the I Ching as a guide and it has been immeasurably helpful over the past 20 or so years.
The Wilhelm/Baynes translation is great, though I am also familiar with the other s and the Thorsons "Elements of" series which Stephen Karcher did.
It seems like a great idea to do a thread for beginners as I Ching discussions can quickly get technical and confusing. I have been using I Ching steadily since 1984 and I find those discussions over my head.

This is a great idea; exactly what I needed! Serendipity, indeed!

I just pulled out my dusty and nearly forgotten I Ching set (sticks, book) last night; I was wondering how I could "kick-start" and re-embrace my enthusiasm for it...and here it is!

I'm an eager student, ready to learn!

I like Whincup's poetry the best, I find Karcher too confusing, and Wilhelm/Baynes can be stuffy sometimes.

If you really want tons and tons of I Ching goodness for free, you can't beat Bradford Hatcher's site:

http://www.hermetica.info/

I'll try to add ideas when I can.

Everyday or so I try to read, one of the two
I Ching books I have. They bring a balance or
out of the box look at my situations. Can't
figure out the deep readings, but the
eazy reading are my speed! LOL

Sometimes the coins & sometimes I just pick a number
and a line and that puts the focus to a different level of
understanding.
The I Ching helps with life and adds with reading Tarot.
Brings new awareness in a different way.

Don't know if I do it right, but having fun with it! LOL
ros

I've found it very helpful to realize that there is not one I Ching.

The I Ching is three thousand years old, and written Chinese (like all languages) changed over that period of time. It's like the history of the Bible and Bible translations--there are many I Chings, of different periods.

Ok, Everybody! The elements in i-ching...

Here I am again--

Why don't we start with a little chat about elements?

I will compare and contrast with Tarot, since you are all familiar with tarot's four elements--

The I-ching has 8 elements which can combine into many different transmutations of meaning

they are
earth
which is represented by
all yin lines

fire
which is represented by
yang
yin
yang

water
which is represented by
yin
yang
yin

wind
which is represented by
yang
yang
yin

lake
which is represented by
yin
yang
yang

thunder
which is represented by
yin
yin
yang

mountain
which is represented by
yang
yin
yin

oh! i almost forgot, mama and papa:
earth
yin
yin
yin

and heaven
yang
yang
yang

here is a link where you can learn more:
http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=Yijing&no=-1

it is a very good website which explains some of the chinese elementals...


here are some basic meanings for the elements:
water-
danger, deep emotions, lack of clarity

fire-
brightness, passion, clarity

lake-
joy, expressiveness

wind-
gentleness, penetrative

mountain-
stillness, contemplativeness, immobility

thunder-
shock, arousing, action

earth-
receptive, devoted, fertile

heaven-
creative, active

so these compare to the 4 elements of the minor arcana:
wands- action, passion
swords- conflict, intellect
pentacles- earthiness, wealth
cups- emotions, love

to me, you can still see the same basic elements:
water and lake= cups

thunder= wands, or maybe swords
creative= wands or maybe major arcana

earth= pentacles
etc

the difference is, in i-ching you combine different elements... the effect of the rarity of all yang, or all yin to make a hexagram like NO.1, Heaven, the Creative--
is similar in effect to a card of the Major Arcana...

Whereas
Preponderance of the Small (no.9)
would be more similar in stature to a card of the minors...


okay, everybody?

toss those coins and toss back your questions over your shoulders!

(i mean, toss back your questions to here if you get confused!)

sincerely,
serendipity

has everyone moved on to the new iching study group?

hi everybody--
just checking in to see if there is still a desire or need for this thread, which i am totally willing to help maintain

since no one has posted in the last week, i am not sure?


comments, anyone?

-serendip

whichever iching book

Regarding: i believe there is so much serendipity with i-ching, that you should just use whatever iching book you happen to stumble across--

Stongly disagree. There's a whole lot of crap out there. More than half of the so-called translators don't know a word of Chinese. They just spout a bunch of new age psychobabble to make some money or get some notariety. Garbage in, garbage out. It's worth the time spent to find a good, true translation. There are good reasons that this classic has been around for three thousand years, and it warrants some respect.

Hi Serendipity

I would love to learn this art ..

But as you know, I have such little time right now, that I couldn't possibly begin to learn something new ..

But if, for some reason, I found some time ..

I would come straight to this thread ..

It looks very interesting and your posts, which are informative, appear very clear and are written in a way that looks understandable.

I have thought about the I-Ching on many occasions, but actually never understood how it worked. Reading here has helped.

Now this might sound stupid, but ..

I know you are using the three coins, but often, I have seen people using a stack of what looks like sticks. How are they used? Is that I-Ching or is that something else?

LB

Serendipity
I'm a total beginner at this. In fact, this is the first information that I've read so the more basic information you offer, the more I appreciate it.

It's a little overwhelming to me at the moment but I'm sure I'll have questions. Now that my interest is aroused, please don't stop the thread!