Divination of the 64 Hexagrams from the I Ching
What is the I Ching Oracle Sticks
The
I Ching (
Book of Changes) encompasses all things and regulates all beings, standing as an outstanding representative of the traditional culture of the Han ethnicity. It is traditionally said to have been written by King Wen. The sixty-four hexagrams of the
I Ching, also referred to as "Golden Hexagram Divination" or "Coin Divination", are believed to have been created by King Wen of Zhou. It is said that divination based on these sixty-four hexagrams is highly accurate. The sixty-four hexagrams of the
I Ching, through their combinations, reflect the philosophy of life and the laws governing the operation of nature under sixty-four different specific circumstances such as things, situations, and phenomena. Each of the sixty-four hexagrams consists of six lines (yao) and line statements (yaoci), corresponding to 384 states. Through the changes brought about by these state variations, one can understand the way all things in the world operate and the philosophy of life.
How to Obtain an I Ching Oracle Sticks
When drawing a hexagram from the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching, one must be fully focused, with mind and will united, free from distractions. Hold both hands sincerely together and silently recite "Zhou Wen's I Ching, guide me through perplexities" three times. Then, silently recite your personal information, including your name, date and time of birth, current address, and the specific matter you need guidance on, which can be marriage, financial luck, career, family, health, etc.
Next, mentally silently recite a number from 1 to 64 (in Arabic numerals), then hold the divination cups (shengbei) in both hands and repeatedly cast them. Only after getting three consecutive sacred cups (auspicious results) can you obtain the corresponding hexagram lot. If you fail to get three sacred cups in a row, you need to draw again. Moreover, remember not to ask the same question repeatedly; otherwise, the obtained lot will not be effective.
After stating the question you need guidance on, mentally silently recite a number from 1 to 101 (in Arabic numerals). Then hold the divination cups in both hands and repeatedly cast them. After getting three consecutive sacred cups, you can obtain the I Ching oracle lot. If you don't get three sacred cups in a row, you need to draw again. And remember, you must not ask the same question repeatedly, or the obtained lot will not work.
The Complete Oracle: Decoding All 64 Hexagrams of the I Ching
What are the Sixty-Four Hexagrams of the I Ching?
The Zhou Yi (Zhou Book of Changes) is the same as the I Ching. The I Ching has a total of sixty-four basic combinations. These include 384 corresponding states, and through the changes brought about by these 384 state variations, one can understand the operation of all things in the world and the philosophy of life. Then, how did the sixty-four hexagrams and 384 states come into being? Because relying solely on the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) to understand natural phenomena and explain the laws of change and operation of all things in the world is far from sufficient. Therefore, the sages combined the Eight Trigrams in pairs to form the Sixty-Four Hexagrams. The sixty-four different meanings in the Sixty-Four Hexagrams are used to explain the operation of nature and the world. In order to make the explanation of each hexagram in the Sixty-Four Hexagrams rich in meaning and diversity, the sages integrated each hexagram into six line statements (yaoci) to represent the different states of each hexagram. These six line statements are what are called the Six Lines (Liu Yao). With sixty-four hexagrams, there are correspondingly 384 line statements.
