How to consult the oracle
To consult the I Ching: settle and breathe, ask one open question about your own situation, then cast six lines from the bottom up by tossing three coins six times (heads = 3, tails = 2). Totals of 6 or 9 are changing lines. Read the resulting hexagram, its two trigrams, any changing lines, and the hexagram it changes into.
You can do this with our virtual coins in about two minutes, or with three real coins at your kitchen table. Either way, the steps are the same.
1 · Settle
Sit so your feet touch the floor. Take three slow breaths. The tradition warns against consulting with a divided or testing mind; you do not have to believe anything, but you do have to be sincere. The oracle page has a short ritual with a bell if you like a threshold to cross.
2 · Ask well
The I Ching answers questions about your stance, not about outcomes. Good shapes:
- “How should I approach…”
- “What do I need to understand about…”
- “What is the right attitude toward…”
Weak shapes: “Will I get the job?”, “Does she love me?”, anything yes/no. If you type one of those, the Question Whisperer on the oracle page will gently turn it into something answerable. Write a few sentences of context too: what has happened, how you feel, what you already suspect. The more honest the context, the more the images will have to hold on to.
3 · Cast six lines, bottom up
Three-coin method
Toss three coins together. Heads counts 3, tails counts 2. Add them:
- 6 — old yin ⚋ changing (three tails)
- 7 — young yang ⚊ stable
- 8 — young yin ⚋ stable
- 9 — old yang ⚊ changing (three heads)
Do it six times. The first toss is the bottom line, the sixth is the top.
Using your own coins
Any three coins work; many people keep a set just for this. On the oracle page choose “I’ll toss my own coins” and enter how many heads came up on each toss. The hexagram builds as you go.
Yarrow stalks are the older, slower method and give slightly different odds. We do not simulate them, but if you use them, enter the resulting line values the same way.
4 · Read
- The hexagram itself. Its name, its situation and its counsel. Read it whole first.
- The two trigrams. Upper is the outer situation; lower is your inner stance. “Wind over Lake” is a picture — let it be one.
- The changing lines. These are where things are moving. One changing line is the heart of the answer; with several, the upper ones weigh more; with many, the second hexagram takes over.
- The resulting hexagram. Where things tend if you keep your present course. A direction, not a promise.
- The nuclear hexagram. The tendency underneath. Optional, but often uncanny.
5 · Let the Council speak (optional)
Seven virtual guides, one job each, read your cast in turn and hand you a reflection, three questions and one tiny act for the week. How they work. You remain the judge.
6 · Sit with it
Write a sentence beginning “What I need to understand is…”. Then close the book for a day before acting. If you want other eyes, post the reading in the circle. And please: one question, one cast. Asking again because you disliked the answer is the one thing the book scolds you for.