The I-Ching 易經, the Book of Changes, also called the Zhou-Yi, is an ancient form of Divination based on the meaning of 8 trigrams combined with each other and arranged to arrive at a total of 64 hexagrams. A trigram is three lines, called yao that represent a binary code – a solid line symbolizes Yang, bright, expansive and sturdy. A broken line symbolizes Yin, dark, contractive and receptive. This system pre-dates written language in Ancient China. It is thought to have been initiated by the ancient ruler Fu Xi¹, who, upon seeing a dragon-horse emerge from the Lo River, realized the markings on its back represented the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, and the order of the universe as it existed in its perfect or Pre-Heaven state. From this, the Lo River Map, the Bagua (8 Sections, shown right) was born. Each of the markings represented a number, direction, and one of the 5 elements These sections are Heaven, Earth, Fire, Water, Thunder, Wind, Mountain and Lake(Valley). These attribuutes were expressed in the binary form of solid and broken lines, grouped in eight sets of three called trigrams. When these trigrams are combined into groups of 6 lines, they become 64 Hexagrams and the entirety of the I-Ching. The 64 Hexagrams of the I-Ching have meaning of their own, taking into consideration the upper trigram and the lower trigram, and represent phases of cosmological significance.

The other notable individual in the history of the I-Ching was King Wen of Zhou⁴ 1112–1050 BC.  Wen was only posthumously awarded the title of King. He was born Ji Chang, the son of Count of Zhou, a small state along the Wei River in present-day Shaanxi. The legend says that while he was imprisoned by the Shang King, he spent his time studying the 64 Hexagrams and devised an order that represented the natural laws of human nature and evolution. Thus placement in the sequential order of the hexagrams adds meaning to each one.  While the ordering is complex, the basic structure contains 32 pairs of hexagrams. Each is paired with its opposite formed by reversing the lines. For example, Hexagram #3, Chun, Beginning Difficulties is trigrams Water over Thunder. When each line is reverse ordered it becomes #4, Meng, Untaught Youth, – Trigrams Gen, Mountain, over Kan, Water. Those hexagrams that don’t change when the order is reversed are paired with their opposite Hexagram. For example, the Hexagram #1, Qian or Heaven, is composed of 6 Yang lines (Yao) – Heaven over Heaven and is paired with #2 Kun, Earth, which is 6 Yin lines – Earth over Earth.

Many modern-day texts of the I-Ching use King Wen’s ordering. The commentary of texts is expressed in terms of the progression of the Zhou conquest of the Shang Dynasty. These texts contain not only the ancient meaning of the hexagram, its character in the ancient script called oracle bone script, and commentary attributed to King Wen, his nephew, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius. Shown right is #45, Cui, Collecting (Dui, Lake over Kun, Earth).

Another famous Chinese scholar, Shao Yong² 1010-1077 AD, applied binary arithmetic to determine ID numbers for all the I Ching gua. He then ordered the hexagrams based on these IDs. The German thinker Leibniz (1646-1716) also worked with this binary code. In fact, many scholars are incline to say that the binary arithmetic invented by German great thinker Leibniz (1646-1716) is of the same origin with Chinese master scholar Shao Yong’s method. The Binary code of 1’s and 0’s is the foundation of all modern computer code for which Leibniz is credited.³

When one wishes to consult the I-Ching for advice on life decisions or problems, the first task is to form a good question. A teacher once said that Divination is reading the mind of the Divine. Thus, one would approach the subject with reverence and sincere intention. Once a question is decided, then one of several methods may be used for determining the hexagram that holds the answer or advice. Perhaps the oldest and most complicated is using yarrow stalks to arrive at the hexagram. In ancient days, the stalks were several feet long and the Wu or shaman was summoned by the Emperor to perform a divination. Today, the process is less dramatic and the acceptable stalk length is 6″ to 10.” Using 50 stalks, they are counted and sorted in a ritualistic, repetitive manner to arrive at the 6 lines or yao of the hexagram. Each time the stalks are counted/sorted, the querant will arrive at 6, 8, 7, or 9 stalks remaining. 6 and 8 indicate a Yin line, 7 and 9 indicate a Yang line. This process is repeated 6 times for the entire hexagram. Of these, 6 and 9 indicate a changing line. They are called old Yin and old Yang. This means that they necessitate a change to their opposite. The reader will then consult not only the hexagram indicated by the original sorting but consult a second hexagram created from the first by changing the of yin line 6 to a yang line and the yang line of 9 to a yin line. Full instructions can be viewed here. 

There are many other methods of Divination. Some use coins, some use colored stones and others such as Shao Yang’s Plum Blossom, mei hua yi shu (梅花易數) method use a combination of intuition, the date, and numerology. The Plum Blossom method arrives at a number between 1 and 64 and this is your hexagram. 

¹FuXi 伏羲 2000 BCE was a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well as the Cangjie system of writing Chinese characters around 2,000 BC. FuXi is part of the Chinese story of Creation. The initial creator, Pangu died, creating Huaxu who gave birth to twins, FuXi and Nüwa. A possible historical interpretation of the myth is that Huaxu (Fuxi’s mother) was a leader during the matriarchal society (c. 2,600 BC) as early Chinese developed language skill while FuXi and Nüwa were leaders in the early patriarchal society (c. 2,600 BC) while Chinese began the marriage rituals. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuxi.]

²Shao Yong 邵雍 1010-1077 AD was a Chinese cosmologist, historian, philosopher, and poet who greatly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism across China during the Song dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, there were two main approaches in I Ching studies. Together with the majority of scholars, the other members of the group took the yili xue (義理學, “principle study”) approach, which was based on literalistic and moralistic concepts. The other approach, taken by Shao alone, was the xiangshu xue (象數學, “image-number study”) approach, which was based much more on iconographic and cosmological concepts. An approach to I Ching divination known as Mei Hua Yi has been attributed to him. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shao_Yong]

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