The I Ching can look very intimidating at first. It's a big book with lots of strange-looking symbols and cryptic messages. But it really is not so difficult to use or to understand. The first thing you need to do is choose a divination method. There are several out there, but the two most common are the Three Coins and the Yarrow Stalk methods.
Once you have decided which to use, you have to think of something to ask. There is no right or wrong type of question, but experience helps you to hone this ability. It's not a good idea to ask a yes/no question of the I Ching — at least not if you're expecting a yes/no answer. Remember that the I Ching first describes the dynamics of the situation you are in and then reveals how that situation will evolve depending on which course of action is taken.
So instead of asking: 'Will I be promoted at work?', ask: 'What do I have to do to be promoted at work?'
For the benefit of this article I will use the example of a question I asked of the I Ching some months ago:
What is the I Ching's greatest treasure?
I used the yarrow stalk method and the hexagram revealed to me was #27 (I — Nourishment).
For the full text attached to this hexagram click here.
Using the Richard Wilhelm translation, it says:
This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are firm lines
of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through
which we take food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment
itself. Nourishment of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the
three lower lines, while the three upper lines represent nourishment and
care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.
So we begin with the theme of nourishment, and in more than one sense of the word. Perhaps we are being told that the I Ching nourishes us in some way.
We then come to the Judgement. In this case we are told:
THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with.
Don't worry if that doesn't make sense to you. Read the explanation below the Judgement:
In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people
should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment
in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to
observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he
cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man
fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men
through them.
This tells us we should first nourish ourselves and choose carefully whom we ourselves would nourish. But the question asked was about the I Ching. With that in mind, the last two sentences leap out: "Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them."
The I Ching appears to be saying that it can't reach all of the people. What it does is reach out to individuals and hopes that, through them, its wisdom will spread. And in knowing the kind of people who engage with the I Ching, we can get to know about the I Ching itself. Its character is revealed through those who use it.
We now move onto the Image and the following commentary:
At the foot of the mountain, thunder:
The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.
Thus the superior man is careful of his words
And temperate in eating and drinking.
"God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing": when in the spring the life
forces stir again, all things comes into being anew. "He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still": thus in the early spring, when the seeds fall to
earth, all things are made ready. This is an image of providing nourishment
through movement and tranquillity. The superior man takes it as a pattern
for the nourishment and cultivation of his character. Words are a movement
going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from
without inward. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquillity.
For tranquillity keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding
proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding
its proper measure. Thus character is cultivated.
Again bearing in mind the question I asked, it seems to me the I Ching is saying that it is the catalyst for change. Thunder in the I Ching represents movement. It was Chen, the symbol for thunder, which triggered the movement in stillness and which, therefore, brought the manifest into being. The hexagram for 'Keeping Still' is 'Ken' (#52). This balances out the movement of the Arousing and leads to moderation. This is something the I Ching is able to achieve naturally for it follows the laws of nature, as we ought to.
At this stage, if you divined 'moving' lines, indicated by the numbers 6 and 9, then you go onto read the commentary attached to them and only them. In my case, I had 6 in the second place (second line) and 9 at the top.
Six in the second place means:
Turning to the summit for nourishment,
Deviating from the path
To seek nourishment from the hill.
Continuing to do this brings misfortune.
Normally a person either provides his own means of nourishment or is
supported in a proper way by those whose duty of privilege it is to provide for
him. If, owing to weakness of spirit, a man cannot support himself, a feeling
of uneasiness comes over him; this is because in shirking the proper way of
obtaining a living, he accepts support as a favour from those in higher place.
This is unworthy, for he is deviating from his true nature. Kept up
indefinitely, this course leads to misfortune.
To me this says that the I Ching lays a path for us to follow which will lead us, eventually, to being able to sustain ourselves. If we keep looking to a higher place for nourishment, including the I Ching itself, we end up straying and seeking it from all the wrong places.
Nine at the top means:
The source of nourishment.
Awareness of danger brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
This describes a sage of the highest order, from whom emanate all influences
that provide nourishment for others. Such a position brings with it heavy
responsibility. If he remains conscious of this fact, he has good fortune and
may confidently undertake even great and difficult labours, such as crossing
the great water. These undertakings bring general happiness for him and for
all others.
The I Ching here is saying that if we successfully connect with the source of knowledge — something we can achieve through its guidance — we can be fully aware of the dangers and pitfalls that await us. That being so, we need never consult the I Ching again. Moreover, we will then become a source of nourishment for others as the I Ching was for us.
But we're not completely done. There were a couple of changing lines, remember? They were the six in the second place and the nine at the top. This represents the dynamic tension within the situation and they snap to become their opposites. That gives us a whole new hexagram called the Change Hexagram. In this case, it is #19 (Lin — Approach).
(If you divined no changing lines, you're done!)
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