Introduction to I Ching

The word Ching is nowadays taken to mean book but it really means intelligent scroll because that is how important or wise words were noted down for posterity before the arrival of books in ancient China. The word Ye (or I as it tends to be spelled in the West) means concerning  how to deal with calamity and disaster. So I Ching really means intelligent scroll concerning how to deal with calamity and disaster, but the usual translation is the Book of Changes. The I Ching is a mixture of philosophy and fortune telling and it should really be viewed as wise words from the gods to  a Chinese person who consults it. The I Ching system provides information, wisdom, virtue, warning, advice and caution. Many readings concern progress or hindrance along one's life path. It can even advice as to which direction to travel in to maximize one's potential or to minimize the chances of disaster.

Traditionally either coins or special sticks  are used to find the lines that make up a design which can then be looked up in the I Ching book. The Western people prefer to use coins rather than sticks in reading because the method is not so complicated. Usually tree Chinese coins are used and the sides that are most heavily inscribed are called heads or yang and the other sides tails or yin. If you use Western coins, then the heads are yang and the tails are yin. If two or tree coins land yang side up, you need to draw unbroken line on to a piece of paper, while if two or tree coins land yin side up you need  to draw a broken line on to your paper. Once you have found your first line, repeat the process and draw your second line above the first, then find your third line and draw that above the second, and so on until you have either a trigram (tree lines) or hexagram (six lines), depending upon which kind of reading you want.

Then consult the Book of Changes.

Mr. Borislav Dimov is a Doctor of Parapsychology; he is a Magus and a Reiki Master. He has graduated a doctor’s degree in the American Institute of Holistic Theology. He was one of the students of Star Magus Elena Vakulenko. Mr. Dimov is not only a Reiki Master of a Traditional Reiki, but also he...

Articles	More articles from the same author: