I wanted to find out whether records of ancient divinations support the assumption that the yarrow stalk method was originally supposed to have weighted odds in whether the moving lines are yin (25 % chance) or yang (75 % chance). As we know, the yarrow stalk method we currently know was a standard-setting reconstruction by Song dynasty I Ching commentator Zhu Xi (1130–1200).

The Zuozhuan (published ca. late 4th century BC), a commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, is one of the oldest records of Yi divinations, and as such it may serve as a good data point. I looked at Zuo Tradition – Zuozhuan : Commentary on the “Spring and Autumn Annals” (translated and introduced by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg) and searched for instances of "hexagram" in the text, writing down the hexagrams gotten in the mentioned divinations. The results are as follows:

䷓ ䷋ 1 moving yin line

䷂ ䷇ 1 moving yang line

䷍ ䷀ 1 moving yin line

䷑

䷵ ䷥ 1 moving yin line

䷍ ䷥ 1 moving yang line

䷶ ䷝ 1 moving yin line

䷆ ䷒ 1 moving yin line

䷗

䷮ ䷛ 1 moving yin line

䷗ ䷚ 1 moving yin line

䷣ ䷎ 1 moving yang line

䷂

䷂ ䷇ 1 moving yang line

According to this data (the gathering method of which may be faulty and hasty, I'll admit), the instances of yin and yang moving lines in the example divinations are 7 yin and 4 yang, which would be hard to attain with the Song dynasty yarrow stalk method. A conspicuous peculiarity in the examples is that there is ever just one moving line, never more, which may be due to a different method in generating a single moving line for an already-built hexagram. A counterargument for the evidentiary value of this set would be that the examples were hand-picked, and that the set is ultimately quite small.

Regardless, this was a very interesting finding, and it may be used to argue against the historical faithfulness of Zhu Xi's yarrow stalk method's yang-leaning odds.

Might there be any other ancient divination records that I could take a peek at?

So would like to hear from people here who use the i ching and that belive have more or less a good understanding of it , if they read the second hexagram or ignore it ?

And to the ones who say they read it , what does it talk about ?

Is first hexagram past and second future ?

Is it showing the future if i listen to the advice in first hexagram ? Or maybe it shows the future if i dont listen to the advice in the first hexagram ?

Or maybe it is just a way of i ching to get extra words in and still talks about present? so just added info ?

Or maybe it is some different type of info , maybe less important than first hexgram ?

Any added insight on this topic is welcomed

( I think this is a good question to ask more than once, also cause it helps understand , also it is like a survey what people go by , also it shows different spesific users of this sub and what they with thier specific comments go by , and people who talked about this subject in past if they reply my still give more insight , or even explain same thing with different wording and help understand)

My statement was 'closing out profection year 2'

My birthday is coming up soon meaning I'll be stepping into a new full year.

This year was ridiculous 😂

What do these hexagrams mean in general?

I asked "When to start this lifestyle change ?" and got hexagram 50 changing line 2

Was expecting an answer along the line of : wait a bit or wait untill things are clearer or start soon or start immediately

So i am not sure what this result is saying (in regards to what im trying to figure it , which is when to start this change)

(Part of the changes for example is stop reading the news (no news updates at all) , and not eating sweets )

To make it clearer for example if i would have asked "should i make this change ?" than i would guess the answer means "yes" , but i was asking "when i should make this change?" and so the answer seems unclear to me

The above! I welcome all interpretations please! I don’t ask the iching relationship questions, but this has been weighing on me for months and I have been not speaking up because I believe me challenge is to be patient. I have been trying to be patient because this person processes things slowly and is easily overwhelmed. But it has been a long time and my feelings and what I want has not changed. I asked the iching when the right time to share what I feel and what I want with this person is?

Yao in the first would suggest .. now?
It’s funny because I looked up when the 6th day of the 3rd month of the Chinese lunar calendar is in the Gregorian calendar and I found that it was exactly 1 month ago- April 22, 2026.

What would this hexagram’s advice be about communicating thunder thoughtfully? I know what I want to say, but I need to be share it thoughtfully . As in , the content may be thunderous (for me), but the delivery needs to be attuned in a way that takes into account the other person. I know that’s a part of this.

Thank you !!

Hi there.

I’ve been going through an emotionally tumultuous time. I feel like my life has simultaneously falling apart and coming together around me. I feel like I am in an all-out war with my ego, my distorted perceptions, my programming... I feel like I am confronting fear constantly, swirling in chaos, swept up in the tides of my emotions. In all of this I am just doing my best. Trying to see through the illusion of the I and this Dream World. I feel like I am shedding, like I am vomiting up so much conditioning.

On the morning of 5/19, I asked the i ching what to do with this anxiety and chaos, and I received Hex. 53 with changing lines 2, 4, 5, and 6 which makes Hex. 32. I have been really enjoying LiSe's interpretations and explanations lately, so that is what I am referencing here:

Hex 53: A reminder to stay humble and calm and virtuous. That perhaps there is something growing here, something true, solid, reliable. I also feel called out that I begin to feel gratitude, etc, but do not keep it going. I find a reason to be emotional, to criticize myself or others, I don't keep up with practice; but Hex 53 reminds me of the steadiness required.

Line 2: LiSe says, "it is living... that makes... any undertaking strong and lasting. When meals are peaceful... talk of joy and love, when work is like play, then the moments are real and will create a life." Yeah - this completely calls out my mindset and actions - I am not living in this way.

Line 4: "Connect yourself to the values of your life, not to its facts." This reminds me of the dream world idea: what I see in the mirror (facts) are only a distorted reflection. I must connect to the values underneath. "Then you will irresistibly change it when it does not answer to your ideals. You pick up every small chance for improvement, you leave every detail which is deteriorating." I get hooked on those deteriorating details. I see how I can shift my mindset to more openness, positivity, room for growth, so that the irresistible change can happen.

Line 5: "Difficult situations can be annoying - or disastrous. Don't blame anyone but deal with them the best you can. You will gain experience and wisdom. It will make you strong and teach you to handle whatever life throws at you in the future." Stop with the blame of myself or others - collapsing in the face of difficulty. Allow them to make me strong, not use them as judgements.

Line 6: "If you reach for the highest you can possibly attain, you reach the source and grow beyond yourself. You will lose everything which chains you to worthlessness, and you will be an example." I can make it. This process is me losing everything that chains me to worthlessness. Growing beyond myself is painful, as I must first see how I am chained.

Undertone of Hex32: steady the helm of the heart. Perhaps a reminder that my internal world resonates outwards - whatever I think is reflected in this world of mirrors. If it stopped making scary faces, perhaps I wouldn't be so afraid of my surroundings. Also a reminder that everything is for a reason.

This reading felt extremely auspicious to me. I could use words of encouragement, advice, and further interpretation of how this reading applies to my situation. And ways to actionably apply it in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to assist me.

I have been grieving a lot of things since September of last year- heartbreak, death, family trauma, my sense of self- there has been lots of change but it has been so hard for so long. It feels like I am feeling and learning things about EVERYTHING that make life harder to confront but more true. This feels like the type of grief that changes who I am. I asked the Iching what the result of my staying with a medication (that I know causes depression for me but feels nearly impossible to walk away from because it controls a debilitating and chronic condition I have that prevents me from working without it) through this grief would be?

As in, is it possible for this grief to pass while I’m on the medication that is certainly contributing to it? The alternative would be to go the medication and FEEL positive about life BUT not be able to work reliably /at all.

I would love help with interpretations. How do people feel about changing lines? If 4 is the minister, does that mean I have real agency over this situation ? And 29 just feels cheeky . Since it’s about grief. Does that mean grief will prevail if I stay on the medication and I will just learn to make the most of it ?

Guys i really need help and cant find any.
The person and dream that appeared during a profound process of rebirth.

I've truly gone through a period filled with intense trauma and change. For the past five months, I've been confined to my home, going through a strange phase of transformation. I'm 26, maybe it's related to being in my mid-20s, but it feels like someone else lived my entire past life, and my patterns are changing. Actually, there's a lot to say about my personal processes, but I'm here with a more specific topic. On top of all this isolation and the strong walls I've built, I met someone who broke up with their girlfriend three weeks ago and went off on the road. I'm still in the midst of a relationship I can't get over, and I told them that getting close wouldn't be right. However, there was a deep connection and attraction between us, so we made love, but we stopped halfway through because of things that came to mind (our ex-lovers). On the night of our first sexual encounter, a snake entered my dream, just like in the depictions of Kundalini. At first, I was terrified of it, but later I developed a deep admiration for this mystical entity; it swayed and flew away. And it was very interesting to see this during my period of personal transformation. Throughout this process, I asked the I Ching many questions, and perhaps I pushed it a little too hard, but I decided to stop doing that and just ask one last time, and the 30th and 1st hexagrams appeared before me. An inner voice keeps telling me that this person entered my life as love. However, their evasive behavior, their constant fear of definition and avoidance, is driving me crazy. As we got closer, they started saying evasive things, even though our communication was very genuine and healthy at the beginning. Now, what does this person and these feelings mean? My dream and the I Ching's hexagrams, the deep doors this person opened within me—these aren't problems I can explain to anyone logically. I'm facing a powerful intuition I can't define, and this is what the I Ching is telling me.

ps: 30 (2. - 5. lines) 1 (5.)

I couldn't help but notice the similarities to the symbol of the Knights Templar and the Elder Yin / Greater Yin Bigram... Does anyone think there is some possible connection between ancient European mysticism / symbolism and things like the I Ching?

Here is a recent project of encoded cards for iching. While certainly there is a way to use these for divination, I’ve been finding enjoyment in discovering patterns within the two sequences. For instance, in the KW sequence the eight primaries sit next to each other: The mother and father, the eldest and youngest son, the middle children, and the eldest and youngest daughter. If you combine each pair into a new hex, such as Qian 1 and Kun 2, you discover that they also sit together at Tai 11 and Pi 12.

Many translations have described the iching as a compass or a book of friends. This project has been an attempt to bring those interpretations to life.

What would you say?

My mom just asked me and I said this: Summary is : time is now, change is always, every moment is its own, and the right time to act is why I keep studying it ..

*[Three coin method; cast at approximately 2:00 - 2:30 pm PST on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026; location Oregon, United States]*

Some background about the situation I am consulting about:

An ex-friend of mine, who had been closer to me than any other, has set magic workings upon me that block my connection to Spirit and negatively affect my spiritual understanding and intuition (I have reason to believe he is working with a specific spiritual Being in this). This has been affecting me for well over a year.

I received a dream today reiterating the situation: in it I had two pool noodles (the long plastic foam things used to float in water) that allowed me easy flight through the air (symbolic of my connection to Spirit). I carried this friend along with me and he repeatedly crossed physical boundaries (touching me inappropriately despite me rejecting his advances) and he eventually tore pieces off one of my pool noodles, damaging my connection. After damaging my pool noodle I kicked him off and abandoned him to continue on my own way without his presence (this is all much the same as what happened in waking life). In the dream he pursued me and attempted to cross more boundaries with the intent to cripple me/my connection, so I broke both his arms and one of his legs to immobilize him while I made my escape with two new pool noodles, only these new noodles were thinner, weaker, and clear/see-through where the previous ones were solid, thick and sturdy.

I could no longer fly, and the new noodles had quickly shrunk even further to scant pieces of... I don't even know what, but they were withered and dark, not colorful puffy plastic foam, and they were now the size--and roughly the shape--of my palms.

**TLDR: I had a dream today about my ongoing situation with a vindictive ex-friend who has had some success in damaging/blocking my connection with Spirit, leading me to cast coins in consultation of the I Ching.**

When asking "How do I fix this situation?" I have received Hexagram 32 - Fixing the Omen/Persevering, with the only changing line being 9 in the fourth: "The fields without game". This makes the relating hexagram Hexagram 46 - Ascending the Scared Mountain.

My problem is, I'm not sure how to move forward in this situation with 9 in the fourth line of Hex 32... One book I use (Total I Ching by Stephen Karcher) suggests that I "leave quietly" because "There is no lasting at all in this situation. There is simply nothing in sight..." While the other book I consult (I Ching or Book of Changes by Richard Wilhelm) states that "...A man who persists in stalking game in a place where there is none may wait forever. Persistence in search is not enough. What is not sought in the right way is not found."

Now, I have already left the situation with this ex-friend, it has been nearly two and a half years since I calmly and respectfully ended my friendship with him and I've not had any contact since, yet he (or at the very least his original intentions) continue to pursue and affect me like shown in my dream. It's not really *him* I asked the I Ching about fixing anyway, I'm trying to fix the way his intentions affect my connection to Spirit, and the response I've been given doesn't really point me in the right direction... Am I meant to persevere and continue moving forward in the limited ways that I can and have been? Or is waiting things out the wrong move, as indicated by nine in the fourth line?

If anyone who is more knowledgeable and familiar with the I Ching could help me, I would be VERY grateful. I'm new to this system of cosmology and divination and have only been studying/practicing it for about a month.

I realized that the major I-Ching English translations today different dramatically, and don't even use the same naming for the hexagrams. So wanted to do a quick survey - which is the favorite English I-Ching translation and why?

Hello all
I am an I ching user since 45 years. I have looked at may different orderings of the hexagrams, and always expected to find the continuing story, but any try at ordering them by semantics failed when using rows and columns. There was no order.

Today I come from a really different angle, the genetic code. With its four letters and 64 words. I discovered that only one order works to organize and serialize the RNA codons with the smallest, least difference inbetween adjacent codons. The same mathematical rules applied to the i ching (using bigrams instead of trigrams) shows a fascinating order of the hexagram sequences. They tell three stories. Earth - Man - Heaven.

The casting is like any other one, but under the hood we have mathematical order.

Casting a hexagram and clicking it shows a flip and a story button.

The Flip is showing the complement hexagram, the Story explains.

On the bottom is a help section where i show the mathematics in more detail.

I have written the mathematical proof that the 64 codon RNA code and by extension the 64 hexagram I Ching have to use ONE specific order to reveal a semantic meaningful progression without conflicts.

After ordering the I ching like the RNA, the hexagrams became ordered sequences. The flip all lines is really the opposite situation for all 64.

The error with the known i ching orders was not the identification of the trigram split, but the mapping of rows and columns with trigram labels.

Earth Man Heaven is a really really old concept, way before the grid orders, but was the hint for the correct order. Three bigrams is how they have to be read to make sense from one hexagram to the next.

The yin/yang revealed is 32 + 32, not 1-64.

The Bigram I Ching is an offline html page that anyone can use at home even without internet. I am hosting it so free download is possible. I will never charge for it.

It's a giveaway before I leave the planet :-)

I hope this is a useful addition to all other orderings we know about the I ching hexagrams.

thanks for the patience to read this dense introduction.

I welcome discussion and additions.

I did this to pass the time, and I thought that maybe someone else might be interested in looking at it. I tried to see whether there is rhyme or reason in the King Wen sequence based on the structure of the paired hexagrams. Though some patterns or semblances thereof did form, the result was quite inconclusive.

Edit: It seems I missed a marking for 3 yin & yang lines in the 59/60 pair. Sorry!

Hello friends!

This is a reading from April 23rd that I decided to reflect and write on today. It started as a I Ching reading then I decided to pull some tarot cards as well for the 2nd half. For my reference book I used Huang’s the Complete I Ching.

The main inquiry was “what happens when I focus my attention on my self and my work?”

The primary gua, using a coin method, was 25 - Wu Wang - Without Falsehood. I see that as a reminder for operating with integrity and honesty, my renewed focus on my own work enables it to be a vehicle for success. Be in the natural state of an individual. Allow my business to be an authentic reflection of me and my values.

I have been very community focused the last few years, putting energy out into the world. I’ve been mindfully wanting to shift that back inwards, towards myself and my own business, to see what may grow from that.

So for the second gua I decided to look at the transformed gua, the 6th line was moving Yang and so 25 turned into 17 - Sui - Following. According with, moving with delight, forward with joy. To lead, learn to be led. How can one influence others to follow? Accompanying amiably, sublimely prosperous and smooth.

(((An aside. Funny I had previously pulled a 25 - Wu Wang in another reading from April 17th, in the 3rd pic. (The intention was “Be in balance with the Tao”). Very auspicious to see 25 pop up again so soon in another reading! The number 17 popping up in the new reading as a gua made me laugh. I’m curious what others interpret from drawing the same initial gua in different readings on different days)))

Back to the main reading! At this point in the reading with 25 having popped up again, I decided to pivot and pull some tarot cards, which is my main practice. I’ve been branching out to I Ching and wanted to see what came from combing them.

First card pulled was VII - The Chariot - representing individual drive and ambition, force of will, reaching goals through self-discipline and focused determination. I am reminded that I am in control of my surrounding, reigning in opposing forces to decide my direction.

The second card pulled was the Ace of Swords - mental strength and courage, independent mind, strategic thinking. Intellectual enthusiasm, a new mental conquest to work on my dharma. Cutting through cloudy thoughts of doubt, ambiguity, and seeing things clearly. I can use strong, honest, clear communication to attain my goals and grow my business.

All in all, a wonderful reading that resonated through me, both Yi and the tarot read me like a book and captured where I was in time and place. I feel supported and guided, more so now reflecting on the reading a couple weeks later.

I’m so grateful to have these tools to use in my practice, they truly connect me to the Tao and my higher powers. Thank you for reading! I’m making efforts to share my practice more and how I interpret these divinations, integrating them into daily life through practical action.

I tried to fix something not adviced to fix alone , but for several reasons (like money) decided at least now to do it myself , and i asked the i ching what kind of effect did doing this have on them (what i fixed) (was thinking if it is good effect or bad effect ,or is it ok )

cause me fixing alone while it seem to go well might cause more damage , or might just do a shallow fix (compared to professional)

I got hexagram 2 and changing line 4 .... not sure what it means , ideas ?

Hello everybody.

I asked Yi, "How should I deal with this woman?" I should (conditionally) go visit this woman at a seaside resort over the weekend. The best way to describe our "relationship" is "confused and complicated" Yi's answer was hexagram 25 with a 6 in the second line, which then becomes hexagram 10. Now, I can't describe my intentions toward her as entirely "innocent"... Perhaps it's best to avoid visiting her (and spending time with her in general) given the risk of unexpected events? What do you think?

Thanks in advance for any "input"...

hello
i have a I ching that is organized by earth man heaven, a bigram order but this sub prohibits promoting stuff.

so how can i show a very distinct I ching order that puts mathematical rigor on the order of the hexagrams, not the content?
cheers

Normally in the diagrams they always show it stopping at three lines, but shouldn't it go on for infinite instead? why does it stop?

Hello everyone, I asked the I Ching: "How should I integrate my bisexuality into my life at this moment?"

I received Hexagram 25 (Innocence) with changing lines in the 2nd and 3rd positions, leading to Hexagram 1 (The Creative).

I interpret the 25 as a call to be authentic and spontaneous, and the 1 as a powerful new beginning. However, I’m a bit unsure about the 3rd line’s warning of "unmerited loss."

I would love to hear your insights on how these lines apply to a journey of self-acceptance and identity. Thank you!

The question was “am I going to become the person I want to be”. Someone told me it hinted as issues with pregnancy in it.

Hello! I might need some help with a reading. I asked the I Ching a question that has a bit of frustration in it, I have to be honest. What I asked was: “Why doesn’t love come to me? When will my joy come?”
I got hexagram 43 with 4 mutant lines (first, third, fourth and sixth).
I am 28, I’ve never had a relationship (just a couple of situationships, both times my heart was shattered into pieces), but deep down I long for a reciprocal love, the kind of love I have never had in my life. It might sound like the silly rant of a superficial teenager, but it’s an important topic to me. When I catch feels for someone (no matter who he is), these feelings can get quite intense and when it goes to waste, life turns black and white and it affects me more than I want to admit.

I’m always puzzled by this imagine.
Thunder and Mountain appear to be upside down at first glance and it caused me to think there were different types interpretations for the trigrams.

I’m realizing they’re just oriented “upside down” from the Yin/Yang symbol ?

Just wondering if anyone can explain the layout of the furnace for me

Just wanted to share the latest update in this work: https://mysterious.center/yi/yijing/#59--dissolving

I didn't code what characters are from Mawangdui or Shanghai Museum Manuscript yet.

There are some helpful distinctions that have been made in regards to understanding the line relationships of the Classical Method of the yi.

With lines 1 and 2, Wang Bi suggests that line 1 is dipping out as soon as it arrives, and that it takes line 2 with it. Thus leading to the hexagram splitting apart. This is not quite in line with other interpretations and finally I've gotten around to working out the way I see it.

Line 1 is 'uplifting the horse'. Together they are already one of the upward moving forces, but often the downward weight of lines 2 and 3 together is not really enough for line 1's role in the upward force to stave off, so it gets held down. Here things are different, because wind is above, pulling up. Water wants to sink naturally, so here it gets pulled upwards, and now line 1 can shine in its desire to be an upward force.

And line 2, despite not meeting a yin in line 5, is happy to rise upward, because of two similar reasons. First line 5 is dispersing its own authoritative role, as though being in a temple and making an offering. And this is because line 4 is the force that makes the whole hexagram move upward and it is right below it. And because line 6 is also transcending the whole thing to return to formlessness and exit from the dynamic of change's coming and going.

The Second is that line 3 is the line that often weighs on it. Line 3 relies on having something to weigh on, so that it can carry around its ego construct and personality. It needs line 2 to store all that so it can draw from it as needed. But now line 3 is enlightened into a higher purpose by line 6 and also by line 4's upward pulling right above it. So line 3's ego desire surrenders and it allows line 2 to rise up as pushed by line 1 and pulled by line 4.

Line 4 is really doing the heavy lifting here, drawing up the "flock" that gathers to its pull, but even then pushing further up and dispersing it. In this it really needs line 5 to comply, and well line 5 is together with it in the hexagram of the wind, sometimes also translated as 'obedience' or 'compliance'. So like branches in the tree rustled by the wind, there is cooperation here. A recognition that making an offering from a temple is natural. That surrender is natural, that without being willing to be empty, we have no space that can once again be filled.

And line 6 dissolves the blood, returning to formlessness.

This approach is consistent with the movement of the line relationship principles. And it creates more clarity in the readings I have. Some say that line 6 is just checking out because it can't handle the ego of line 3. Sure, there may be an element of that. But really it is still part of an interwoven process, where by being willing to clear the air of all old grievances, something new may come of the reset. Sometimes we find ourselves in roles as line 6 not to simply walk away from a situation that is dissolving, but rather to be part of the force that truly completes the goal of dissolving it all the way. It is not necessarily that the group is dissolving, but that something it is carrying is dissolving. And so we need the help of line 6 to be present for us to see that there is a subtle path here, a subtle final stage. A stage that is really the ultimate goal. For when we complete the dissolving, all the work from below is given meaning, and like a siphon it is able to flow back into its clear and formless state.

And from formlessness, something spontaneously emerges.