AS 201 Consulting the Yijing

A. By means of Yarrow Stalks

From Richard Wilhelm:

The only thing about all this that seems strange to our modern sense is the method of learning the nature of a situation through the manipulation of yarrow stalks. This procedure was regarded as mysterious, however, simply in the sense that the manipulation of the yarrow stalks makes it possible for the unconscious in man to become active. All individuals are not equally fitted to consult the oracle. It requires a clear and tranquil mind, receptive to the cosmic influences hidden in the humble divining stalks. As products of the vegetable kingdom, these were considered to be related to the sources of life. The stalks were derived from sacred plants.

http://www.iging.com/intro/introduc.htm

You will need fifty dried stalks of yarrow – you can either buy these, or pick and dry your own.
divination with yarrow stalks

First take one stalk from the pile and set it aside; you will not be using this one again while casting this hexagram. I tend to place it a little way in front of me and sort the remaining stalks in the space it defines.
Divide the remaining 49 stalks at random into two piles.
Take one stalk from the right hand heap and place it between the little finger and ring finger of your left hand.
Pick up the left hand heap in your left hand and then remove the stalks four at a time, putting them down separately from the other heap, until you have four or fewer stalks left.
Tuck this remainder between the ring and middle finger of your left hand.
Then pick up the right hand heap and sort it by fours in the same way, tucking the remainder into the next gap between your fingers.
Now add up the number of stalks you are holding in your left hand, not including the one on its own that you picked up at first. If there are 8, count 2; if there are four, count 3.
Set these stalks aside separately, and gather the other stalks together to repeat the procedure as above – only this time, when adding up the remainders, do include the original single stalk. If there are 8, count 2; if there are four, count three.
Again, set these stalks aside and repeat the procedure a final time with those that are left, counting them in exactly the same way as the second time.

Add up the three numbers you have obtained: the result will be 6,7,8 or 9. This is the value of the first (bottom) line of your hexagram.

**B. Consulting the Yijing by the Coin Method**

Throw the three coins together.

Each head counts 3; each tail counts 2.

Add up the values of the three coins – the total will be 6,7,8 or 9. (For example, head (3) plus head (3) plus tail (2) makes 8.)

These four numbers translate into the four kinds of line you saw in this module, like this:

Number	Line type	Yin/yang	Written
6	Changing broken line	Old yin
7	Unchanging solid line	Young yang
8	Unchanging broken line	Young yin
9	Changing solid line	Old yang

Or if you’d rather not have numbers to remember, just remember this:

Three tails:
Two tails, one head:
Two heads, one tail:
Three heads:

Record the line you have received. This is line 1 of your hexagram, the bottom line. (Remember a hexagram is built from the ground up, like a house.)

Repeat the same process five more times, working from the bottom up to the 6th and last line.

Write down all six lines, and you have your primary hexagram – the basis for your whole answer. (There’s no more casting to be done.)

Instructions