I Ching Oracle - 易經 - The Book of Changes

I Ching Oracle

The I Ching is an ancient Chinese oracle. It consists of a collection of line drawings that include texts and comments.

First decide very clearly what you want to know. The best is to write your question down. Most of the time, the oracle will give two answers.

First ask your question:

Here is an example of an I-Ching oracle laying if you would like to determine the hexagrams yourself.

I Ching - The Book of Changes

The Book of Changes was initially a collection of characters that gave yes and no answers. The yes answer was indicated by a solid line and the no answer by a broken line. Later the eight trigrams developed from each of the three stroke combinations that mirror life in pictures. Next, the eight pictures were combined in such a way that 64 characters emerged.

With an oracle laying the strokes change according to specific rules, so that the pictures change their character. These symbolise transitions and changes. The pictures do not depict situations, but rather indicate tendencies.

For many situations, the I Ching gives instructions and advice that bring good luck. And as long as things are moving, they can be influenced.

You can do the oracle laying yourself, by, for example, tossing coins and entering the result at the top. You can also leave this up to the computer by simply clicking on I Ching oracle questions. The answers correspond to Chinese wisdom. The first answer is psychologically interpreted. If the characters are changed, there are two answers.

There are two interpretative traditions: The first considered the characters as a text book of prediction. The other practice consists of philosophical interpretation and sees the book of change as a source of cosmological, philosophical and political insight.

The Book of Changes was used in Richard Wilhelm’s translation.