Casting an I Ching reading
I Ching readings are a form of traditional Chinese divination. Casting an I Ching reading in the VR Mystery School library simulates the method of using coins, which in itself is a slightly more modern alternative to the ancient method using stalks of the yarrow plant.
The coins or stalks are cast six times, with each outcome producing one line of the hexagram. Like a building, the hexagram is assembled from the ground up, bottom line being considered the first line in the text interpretations.
Step-by-step instructions
- Remember to stay focused on your dilemma or subject or question when casting.
- Click the coins to toss them, all the while contemplating your query. The line you record is determined by numerical values to heads (3) and tails(2), then adding the total.
- Collect the coins and toss another five times, recording the numerical values and the corresponding line each time, building your six-line hexagram from the bottom up.
The hexagram you’ve just created can be called your “present hexagram.” In order to produce a “future hexagram,” just change all the lines marked with an ‘x’ or an ‘o’ into their opposite. Any broken lines (Yin) marked with an ‘x’ flip into their opposite—a solid line (Yang)—and solid Yang lines marked with an ‘o’ turn into the broken Yin lines.
The I Ching means “Book of Changes” in Chinese and is all about Change, which is always happening, which is the one constant in life. If you get no changing lines when you cast a hexagram (i.e. no 6 or a 9 value), that signifies that conditions related to your topic are relatively stable or not in great flux at this particular time.
Once you have identified your present—and, possibly, future—hexagrams, use a Hexagram Identification Chart to locate the hexagram numbers and click through to read the interpretation, considering only the changing lines you may have gotten. You may also choose to view the corresponding artwork for your given hexagram as well.
Source: https://divination.com/iching/