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Yijing software news

Update!

What follows is an ancient post, from the days when I still had an unmet wishlist for my I Ching journal software. Then Justin Farrell made us the amazing Resonance Journal, and the rest is history. Do download a trial and give it a go!


If you’re interested in storing (and maybe also casting) your readings in Yijing software, you have a range of very good options nowadays – much better than a few years ago. The venerable San Shan Yijing is still available, with its outstanding functionality and contents somewhat obscured by a counter-intuitive interface. (You can judge this for yourself with the free evaluation version.) Then there’s the ‘Total Yijing‘ program, which I believe is still the only way to access the latest version of Stephen Karcher’s translation, complete with commentary on each ‘crossline omen’.

And – excellent news! – Ewald Berkers has just brought out a new version of his own Yijing software. As you might expect from the man who created the I Ching Community’s much-used hexagram search, this has a supremely simple, intuitive interface; it’s not the kind of software you need to ‘learn’.

You cast your reading – you can use the ‘virtual coins’ in the program, or enter one you’ve cast in your usual way – and the software shows you your reading on a single page. You click ‘save to journal’ to type in your own notes about the reading (you can still see the text of the reading, and copy-and-paste from there to your journal). You save your reading, and it’s stored.

Now we’re getting to the really good bit. On a single, plain and simple journal page you can

  • see the list of your readings
  • search the full text of your questions and notes (so, for instance, bring up every reading about ‘John’ or ‘work’)
  • search by hexagram – bring up every reading with a given hexagram as primary or relating figure
  • search by moving line, with or without including the hexagram search. So as well as searching for ‘26.2.5’ you can search for ‘every reading where lines 2 and 5 were changing’.

Of course this makes me greedy for more features – the ability to include every line’s zhi gua in the search, for instance, or sort by nuclear hexagram – but since the odds are no-one else would want this, I think Ewald’s wise to keep it simple.

The only other feature I really wish this had is the ability to add additional translations. The software uses the latest version of Ewald’s own translation and commentary, which is very good indeed, but I’d be even more likely to make regular use of an interface where I could easily toggle between my favourite versions.

Anyway – this is an efficient, easy-to-use program that offers a sophisticated I Ching journal in a very accessible format. I particularly like the ‘transparent’ feel of it: I can use it to consult and record readings fluently, without ever feeling as if the software is disrupting the flow or getting in the way. Recommended.

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