Possessing a history of more than two and a half millennia of commentary and interpretation, the I Ching is an influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, psychoanalysis, literature, and art. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000–750 BC), over the course of the Warring States period and early imperial period (500–200 BC) it was transformed into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings".

A drawing of women practicing divination with lead or wax / Čeněk Zibrt, Wikimedia // Public Domain

Anyway, among the divination techniques, I've found the I Ching to be one of the most rewarding. I guess it's because the I Ching speaks with words, like our whole species prefers to do. That makes its predictions accessible and surprisingly obvious to us. If you've tried the I Ching, I'm sure you agree. In additon to the explanation of every I Ching hexagram, there's a short text for each of the six lines. In I Ching divination, some of those lines get marked, and their texts bring additional clarifications to the question at hand. So, the I Ching hexagram gives the general idea, whereas the marked lines give some specifics. The I Ching book contains 64 chapters, each devoted to one of 64 hexagrams — diagrams of six ( hex is Greek for six) lines that are either solid or split in two. The 64 are simply all of the possible combinations of solid and split lines for the I Ching hexagrams. You can see all of them on the header image at the top of this column. Knechtges, David R. (2014). "Yi jing" 易經[Classic of changes]. In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Vol.3. Leiden: Brill Academic Pub. pp.1877–1896. ISBN 978-90-04-27216-3.

As a skeptic I have a hard time reconciling logic & reason with my experiences concerning this book. The I Ching is like Chinese astrology that uses coins instead dates. You throw the coins and get a nugget of wisdom that speaks to your life and its problems. Logic would immediately say this is preposterous and I tend to agree, even now. The only problem with my conclusion is that hundreds of coin throws have shown me the I Ching is anything *but* random. Francis, Edgar W. "Magic and Divination in the Medieval Islamic Middle East." History Compass 9, no. 8 (2011): 624 Flower, Michael Attyah. The Seer in Ancient Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.

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In medieval Japan, secret teachings on the I Ching—known in Japanese as the Eki Kyō ( 易経)—were publicized by Rinzai Zen master Kokan Shiren and the Shintoist Yoshida Kanetomo during the Kamakura era. [73] I Ching studies in Japan took on new importance during the Edo period, during which over 1,000 books were published on the subject by over 400 authors. The majority of these books were serious works of philology, reconstructing ancient usages and commentaries for practical purposes. A sizable minority focused on numerology, symbolism, and divination. [74] During this time, over 150 editions of earlier Chinese commentaries were reprinted across Edo Japan, including several texts that had become lost in China. [75] In the early Edo period, Japanese writers such as Itō Jinsai, Kumazawa Banzan, and Nakae Toju ranked the I Ching the greatest of the Confucian classics. [76] Many writers attempted to use the I Ching to explain Western science in a Japanese framework. One writer, Shizuki Tadao, even attempted to employ Newtonian mechanics and the Copernican principle within an I Ching cosmology. [77] This line of argument was later taken up in China by the Qing politician Zhang Zhidong. [78] Enlightenment Europe [ edit ] A diagram of I Ching hexagrams sent to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz from Joachim Bouvet. The Arabic numerals were added by Leibniz. The I Ching system of divination is still in wide use today, also far outside China. I've used it many times through the years and found it very rewarding. Contrary to many other systems of divination, the I Ching speaks through words, and so do we. That makes it surprisingly easy to apply to personal circumstances. Actually, the traditional philosophical Taoists would probably object to the I Ching idea of a predictable destiny, at least by principles different in essence from that of Tao, the Way, itself. They preferred a surprising future, to which the only safe direction would be remaining on the Way, no matter what.

I (Ching)" in seal script (top), [note 1] Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters Devakoothu'; the lone woman Theyyam in North Malabar". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06 . Retrieved 2021-11-03.

Divination with the I Ching

Book cover of I Ching (Book of Changes, Yi Jing): Original Chinese Qing Dynasty Taoist Version, Chinese edition, published by Valley Spirit Arts During battle, generals would frequently ask seers at both the campground (a process called the hiera) and at the battlefield (called the sphagia). The hiera entailed the seer slaughtering a sheep and examining its liver for answers regarding a more generic question; the sphagia involved killing a young female goat by slitting its throat and noting the animal's last movements and blood flow. The battlefield sacrifice only occurred when two armies prepared for battle against each other. Neither force would advance until the seer revealed appropriate omens. [ citation needed] The I Ching, or “Book of Changes,” consists ofsixty-four archetypes that result fromall the possible six-line combinations of yin and yang lines, called hexagrams. Yin/yang is the fundamental duality of the Universe whose dynamic tension gives shape to all phenomena and the way they change. Examples of yin/yang polarity are female/male, earth/heavens, dark/light, in/out, even/odd and so on. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, chance utterings weren't always just that. The art of cledonomancy, or divination from overhead words, could be practiced either inside or outside of a specific ritual. In De Divinatione, Cicero relates a story about the Roman general Lucius Paulus, who was then readying his armies to fight King Perseus of Macedonia. Coming home one evening, he noticed that his young daughter Tertia looked forlorn. "What is the matter, Tertia, my dear? Why are you sad?" he asked. His daughter replied, "Oh! father, Persa is dead." Persa was the name of the little girl's puppy, but her father interpreted the words as an omen meaning he would defeat Perseus, which he did. The Images Of The I Ching Detail of A Doucai ‘Eight Trigrams’ plate and dish, Yongzheng, via Sotheby’s

Individuals can also assess their own and others' personalities according to physical characteristics. Blood type remains a popular form of divination from physiology. Stemming from Western influences, body reading or ninsou, determines personality traits based on body measurements. The face is the most commonly analyzed feature, with eye size, pupil shape, mouth shape, and eyebrow shape representing the most important traits. An upturned mouth may be cheerful, and a triangle eyebrow may indicate that someone is strong-willed. [47] Yau, Julianna. (2002). Witchcraft and Magic. In Michael Shermer. The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. ABC-CLIO. pp. 278-282. ISBN 1-57607-654-7 Wiccan Priest Fights Local Ordinance Banning Fortune Telling (Louisiana)". pluralism.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27 . Retrieved 2009-10-06. In Japan, divination methods include Futomani from the Shinto tradition. [ citation needed] Personality types [ edit ] THOMAS McCLATCHIE (1876)McClatchie’s was the first English-language translation, and it’s also not that great. He was far less prudish than Legge, his successor, but still tragically entrenched in the predominant Western mindset towards the East of the 19th century, exemplified in the opening statement of his preface: “The task of translating and explaining the works of Pagan Philosophers is by no means easy of accomplishment. The Heathen and Christian modes of thought are so diverse [that] the Christian translator will find himself completely puzzled, unless, as a preparation for his work, he learns to view these and suchlike subjects from a heathen standpoint.” (I feel like this is a perfect example of “task failed successfully.”) Although in the public domain, McClatchie’s translation is rather difficult to find in non-academic circles, being out of print in most areas; I’ve read it, and honestly it can be skipped.

Divination

Creo que muy pocas personas han oído hablar del I Ching. La verdad es que yo sólo tenía constancia del método adivinatorio gracias a mi madre, pero leyendo la introducción he descubierto que también es un libro importante para la filosofía. The authors gave the history of the system, it's use throughout China's history, questioning the oracle and getting an answer, interpreting responses, interpretation of the 64 hexagram combinations, words and images, and more. Each hexagram was dissected to include its image of the situation, inner and outer aspects, counter indications, sequence, contrasted definitions, attached evidence, symbol tradition, transformation lines, and image tradition. Miller, Laura (2014). "The divination arts in girl culture". In Kawano, Satsuki; Roberts, Glenda S.; Long, Susan Orpett (eds.). Capturing Contemporary Japan: Differentiation and Uncertainty. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. pp.334–358 – via Academia.edu.