I-Ching for Beginners

Thank-you for responding squeakmo9. I searched every site on the net except this one. It seems I missed the step of adding, which is good, because I wasn't liking my hexagram. Also one of links actually gave the visual of the bones, which helped. I am going to go rework my thow and see if I have a happier outcome for my question.

I've got to get a book ordered.
AW

Nice thread

I want to learn I Ching.

Does anyone know tha author of this book?:

"The Complete I Ching: The Definitive Translation"
by the Taoist Master Alfred Huang.


By the way, where can I buy the 3 chinese pennies? THANX A LOT!

jaled said:

By the way, where can I buy the 3 chinese pennies?

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I'm sure anywhere on the internet jaled. I use regular pennies. You could use your own coins, just establish which side equals the value of two and which side will be the value of three.

jaled said:

By the way, where can I buy the 3 chinese pennies? THANX A LOT!

Click to expand...

I got mine from a second hand shop, I asked if they had any old foreign coins and rooted through a box until I had 3 chinese ones.

I found my Chinese coins at a Chinese shop in the mall.I carry them around in my wallet. What would someone suggest to be the best book to start with. I've seen several listed here and would like to choose the best one to start with since I am a very new to the I Ching.
Kat

jaled said:

I want to learn I Ching.

Does anyone know tha author of this book?:

"The Complete I Ching: The Definitive Translation"
by the Taoist Master Alfred Huang.


By the way, where can I buy the 3 chinese pennies? THANX A LOT!

Click to expand...

The author is Alfred Huang

There's something I don't understand about the changing lines--

Does any number of changing lines generate a new hexagram or is a new hexagram only generated with two or more changing lines? In other words, a hexagram with ONE changing lines does not have a 'future' hexagram?

I've gotten different answers... Plus, one resource says that when you have say..three changing lines your answer is the original hexagram and the future hexagram and not to consult any of the changing lines interpretations for the original--that many changing lines indicates that the situation is too complicated.

But I had a hexagram with 3 changing lines and every single one seemed to apply to the situation!

There are several different ways to treat changing lines. So don't let that worry you. After three thousand years, there's gonna be a lot of spreads...

What I do, and probably most Western users of I Ching do, is the fairly straightforward cast one hexagram, read all the changing line statements, treat the line statements as steps in the resolving/evolving/undfolding of the situations, and take a peek at the second hexagram.

Kind of like a Tarot card reading that starts with one card...has anywhere from 0 to 6 intervening steps cards...and an outcome card.

I'll second Bradford's recommendation for having a couple of I Ching translations. Wilhelm/Baynes of course, because everybody starts with that one, and it gives you a common frame of reference with most Chingaholics.

Comparing that translation with Richard John Lyn's will give you a feeling for how much both Chinese "translators" (commentators) and English translators mold the meaning of the poetry that is the I Ching such that there are many I Chings, just as there are many Tarots, yet one I Ching, just as there is The Tarot.

Good fun. I love this stuff.

I'm trying to get into the I Ching once more but do have one question if anyone can answer.

Is it like most tarot and oracles...can you ever put the book down or do you always need the book to read I Ching?

I'm guessing it's something that's always needed and is part of the whole thing.


As a foot note to my question I'd like to talk about making the hexagrams.

Unless I've missed something (which is possible as I've read this thread quite quickly) has anything been mentioned about the eight coin casting method, all I've seen is about three coins. I undertand how it's done but does anyone actually use it?
What about other method's, does anyone have their own personal method to share?

I'm experimenting with dice, an eight sided dice to be exact as their are eight trigrams.
First dice roll gives me the bottom trigram and the second roll gives me the top; I then roll a third time and if 1 is rolled the bottom line changes, if 2 the next to bottom line and so on...on a roll of 7 or 8 nothing changes.

I've done a couple of readings for both myself and my wife and it seems to work ok, and it's a lot less hassle free than throwing the dice

BTW I'm currently using The Fortune Teller's I Ching and think the interpretations work well and isn't over written.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this book?

Paul

SpiritOfTheDogz said:

I'm trying to get into the I Ching once more but do have one question if anyone can answer.

Is it like most tarot and oracles...can you ever put the book down or do you always need the book to read I Ching?

I'm guessing it's something that's always needed and is part of the whole thing.

Click to expand...

There's a very simplified method that I used to use to interpreting the hexagrams based on the two trigrams involved. Basically I became familiar with each of the trigram's name and definitions, and combined the two not unlike a two-card spread.

SpiritOfTheDogz said:

As a foot note to my question I'd like to talk about making the hexagrams.

Unless I've missed something (which is possible as I've read this thread quite quickly) has anything been mentioned about the eight coin casting method, all I've seen is about three coins. I undertand how it's done but does anyone actually use it?
What about other method's, does anyone have their own personal method to share?

Paul

Click to expand...

I use the yarrow stalk method, you can learn about it here. It's complicated and very ritualistic, but I find I really appreciate that ritual as a prelude to consulting the I Ching. It's almost like shuffling a deck, except there's counting and adding involved