Karcher v Karcher

[mfc]

Hi,

I'm new to the Yi and this group. I have several books and want to add one by Stephen Karcher. The two that look most interesting to me are How to use the I Ching (which according to the newsletter is now I Ching Plain and Simple) and Total I Ching: Myths for Change.

I've read the reviews for both, but I'm still not sure which one to get. Are both accessable to beginners? Is one a subset (or superset) of the other, or are they significantly different from one another? What are the reasons for preferring one over the other? And finally, are any of his other books worthy of consideration?

Thanks!

- Michael

[bradford_h]

Michael-
The big book that he did with Rudolf Ritsema is pretty indispensible to a serious student of the Yi.
It's sort of misunderstood to be a translation though. I keep it with my Chinese dictionaries rather than among my Yijing translations. It is most useful in helping you understand some of the broad scope of the Chinese terms (but it's not in Chinese - all English and Wade-Giles).

[hilary]

How to Use/ Plain and Simple is a compact 'beginners'' book, though it crams a considerable amount into the space and is not dumbed down. That was 1997; the Total I Ching is 2003 and a very different animal: much bigger, with the fruits of the knowledge of myth, ritual and legend he's accumulated since. It's still intended to be accessible to beginners, but could be overwhelming. Also there are many changes and additions to the translation, whereas the earlier book is relatively 'straight'.

Reasons to prefer 'Plain and Simple': simplicity (!), more manageable, easier to separate out original text from his own ideas. Reasons to prefer 'Myths for Change': enables you to go much further and deeper, gives you far more to think about. As far as commentary goes, 'Plain and Simple' is more or less a subset of 'Myths for Change', I think.

The big Ritsema/Karcher book is still the first text I go to. With a little imagination and willingness to work (and/or with a more traditional version to help out!) you can use it as a translation.

[mfc]

Thanks, both of you!

I think I'll go for Plain and Simple right now and look into the others later, when I'm ready to really make use of the "extras."

Karcher has so many books floating around that it's a bit hard knowing which is which.

Again, thanks.

- Michael

[cguleff]

Michael,

I found a copy of Myths for Change on a clearance rack in a local bookstore after seeing it reviewed here several months ago. It has become a favorite for me. However, it's not too portable. After examining the smaller one at a bookstore, I purchased a used copy from Amazon.com to carry around with me. I'm sure I'll find it useful. My advice: once you've gotten into the I ching you'll want Myths for Change.

chris

[mfc]

Hi Chris,

Thanks. I did find both books at a bookstore recently and will eventually get Myths For Change. At the moment my favorite book is the Balkin book, The Laws of Change. Its no-nosense approach and firm grounding in the latest psychology and historical research meshes well with my own no-mysticism beliefs. But the Karcher book looks good too.

- Michael

[candid]

Chris and Michael, hope I'm not being too assuming here, but why do we not here more from you on the Discussions board? You both are obviously into the Yi. We'd all benefit by your thoughts and experience.

Thanks,
Candid

[mfc]

Hi Candid!

Sorry for getting this reply out so late.

You wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE><HR SIZE=0><!-Quote-!><FONT SIZE=1>Quote:</FONT>

...hope I'm not being too assuming here, but why do we not here more from you on the Discussions board? You both are obviously into the Yi. We'd all benefit by your thoughts and experience.<!-/Quote-!><HR SIZE=0></BLOCKQUOTE>

At this point I'm sort of at an impasse. I've been reading up on Yi since the summer and have cast a dozen or so hexagrams since then, with mixed results. Sometimes the results make sense and sometimes they don't. The last hexagram I cast was a month ago and was about a relationship. I couldn't make heads or tails of my reading. (The situation has changed since then, so I won't provide details as it's all obsolete now.)

So to be honest, I'm not sure what I'd bring to the party by contributing to the other Forums. (Fora?) Everyone else here seems to be way ahead of me. Perhaps I'll try to get some practice in by trying to interpret some other readings posted here without "looking ahead at the answers." We'll see.

Anyway, thanks for your note. I do appreciate it.

- Michael

[candid]

Hi Michael,

We're all students here. You could always post your readings for discussion and interpretation. And it's surprising what insights can come from those with limited experience. Out of the mouths of babes, et al. http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/I_Ching_community/clipart/happy.gif

Take care,

Candid

[cguleff]

Candid,

In response to your message on December 8, 2004, I've been working a lot of overtime at work and spending "free" time helping friends. Regrettably, my time on the internet and this website has been limited. I appreciate the invitation to participate more. Possibly this is a signal to look into my priorities a little more.

Thanx,
Chris