The I Ching is actually an ancient divination system consisting of 64 chapters, based on 64 hexagrams that represent ‘answers’ to life. Hexagrams are determined using cleromancy, a process of producing random numbers in a limited order using a specified method. Two methods exist.
The oldest method involves the use of 50 yarrow stems and is quite complex. The most common and simpler method is to use three heads and tails coins. By following the casting rules you will arrive at a hexagram that will be used to answer your question.
Choose the book
For this review process, I look at three important factors: the knowledge and wisdom of the author, the readability and transmission of the knowledge, and the usefulness of the book. There are many books on the I Ching; the book for this review is intended for beginners, advanced students, and professional spiritual advisors.
The Book – I Ching: The Book of Changes and the Unchangeable Truth
The ISBN 13 number for this book is 978-0937064290 and it can be purchased new in hardback on Amazon for $34.73 USD. You can find used copies of the hardcover edition (cover above) on Amazon starting at $8.24 USD and on Alibris for $22.00 USD at the time this article was written.
Published in 1983 and republished in 1990, “Hua-Ching Ni, author, teacher and healer, addresses the essential nature of human life and works to promote the personal growth and spiritual development of this and future generations. Raised in a long family tradition of healing and spirituality, Hua-Ching Ni spent his youth learning from highly successful masters in the mountains of China. He is the beneficiary of a broad spiritual tradition passed down since China’s Golden Age and is the author of more than 40 books on Taoism, natural healing and spirituality.” (Editorial review from Amazon)
The book is well edited, with a useful table of contents at the beginning of the book, followed by Part 1: The Natural Truth Underlying the Book of Changes and the Immutable Truth, Part 2: The Natural Path of Life, Part 3: The guide to the sixty-four specific circumstances, part 4: five examples of ancient I Ching practitioners, an epilogue, and a bibliography. Much of the content appears in what can be described as a “cookbook” format, explaining each hexagram in four to six pages.
Recommendation
This book provides really clear explanations and examples for the hexagrams and is an excellent reference work. The disadvantage is that the interpretations get stuck in cultural differences (between Eastern and Western thinking) and the past, so in some cases you have to massage the interpretation. He has a page with specific guidelines for each hexagram and one option is “hunt thieves”. But others include personal fortune, marriage, climate, travel, and so on.
Layout of a hexagram Explanation – Chien: Modesty/Eglolessness (15)
Each hexagram number appears at the top or center of the page; the book does not stop and begin with sections by hexagram. A hexagram is actually made up of two trigrams and each trigram represents a specific concept, limited to eight meanings. The trigrams are heaven, earth, thunder, water, mountain, wind, fire and more. Chien is the mountain below, the earth above.
Mountain
Source Wikimedia
Soil
Source Wikimedia
Hexagram 15
Source Wikimedia
The text under the hexagram starts with GUIDANCE: followed by an explanation. In the case of this hexagram it is:
ACCOMPANIMENT: Egolessness. The developed achieves his goal. The advantage goes to the humble, while the arrogant face failure.” (297)
Several paragraphs are written about the hexagram and then each line is discussed (1 to 6). After the rules are explained, there is a section for Specific Guidance, a list of the following categories: personal fortune, marriage, housing/family, childbirth, seeking help, social/government position, trade/business, looking for someone, looking for something that is lost, hunting for thieves, lawsuit, climate, travel, illness and personal wishes. Finally, there is a commentary section, written in lines of poetry.
In the case of this hexagram, let’s say you asked, “Should I stay in my marriage?” and you threw coins and received Chien, then your answer would be: “It can be achieved, but for the woman it can be a confused sexual relationship.” (300) If you were to ask, “Should I travel to California for my vacation?”, your answer would be, “There may be obstacles, but no harm. When you are with a crowd, there is happiness.” (301)
Lines
When casting the lines, a line is continued or broken. The lines can be stationary or ‘moving’. The coin method makes it easy. You throw 3 coins. Three from the same side (head or tail) means the line is moving (broken or solid). If a line is moving, you want to read the line interpretation for that line. If all lines are stationary, the message is that there is no movement in your question and the outcome is blocked or very simple.
Let’s say that line 2, the dashed line that is second from the bottom, is a moving line. You would read the explanation, which says: ‘Modest, clear. Very promising, if you stay the course. You have been entrusted with responsibilities because you [are modest]” (p. 75). The answer is in favor of your question.
Knowing the reviewer
I have an academic background; my PhD is in English (1996) and my concentration was in rhetoric and composition. Astrologically speaking, I am an Aries Sun with Mercury, my point of communication, also in Aries. These two facts about my background and astrological identity are the two most important “lenses” for the way I choose and interpret books. I want them to be well written, researched, and presented (my academic lens), and I want them to be useful, direct, and concise (my Aries Mercury lens).
