Re: Iching Books

[indra]

Hi,

Can any-one on this forum suggest a good book title that would accelarate my learning and interpretation of the I-Ching. In other words what books would be good for interpretings the answers I get from the Iching for beginner's

Regards, indra

[topal]

Hi,

Can any-one on this forum suggest a good book title that would accelarate my learning and interpretation of the I-Ching. In other words what books would be good for interpretings the answers I get from the Iching for beginner's


I think as a starting point Roderic Sorrel and Amy Max-Sorrel's The I Ching made Easy (http://www.amazon.com/Ching-Made-Easy-Psychic-Advisor/dp/0062510738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202164172&sr=1-1) is actually pretty good. The title is typical of the American "get it quick" type of deal but on closer inspection it's not at all bad. Well worth having in your I Ching resource.

A review can be found here:

http://www.biroco.com/yijing/sorrelldening.htm

Topal

[dobro]

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/learn/books/recommended-books.php

[listener]

I second all of the above. The Sorrel book is one of my favorite quick easy-but- accurate reads, great for beginners


and what better to plump it out than Brad's site http://www.hermetica.info/ and
LiSe' s site http://www.anton-heyboer.org/i_ching/index.html.

I also put in a vote for Jack Balkin's Laws of Change, and stephen Karcher too. Welcome to an addiction that never loses its glow.

also http://www.dreamhawk.com/iching.htm (http://www.dreamhawk.com/iching.htm)
this is an online interpretation that I find pleasant, have it bookmarked for quick reference

[bradford]

I have to differ on recommending the Sorrels" as a first book.
I like the book too for what it is - it's just not the place to begin.
You are going to be much better off in the long term if you start
with a GOOD translation instead of somebody's interpretation.
That way you don't start your journey on someone else's path.
Stay away from anything called a beginner's book, and anything
that claims that the Yi is really 5000 years old - it's only 3000
and these writers are easily deluded by the glamor of things.
I'd suggest either Huang or Cleary, for a fairly reliable translation,
in addition to Wilhelm or Legge. Jack Balkin's is good too.
I wouldn't recommend mine until after a couple of years.

[doingnotdoing]

I would think that Nigel Richmond's interpretations might also have value for a beginner as well and they're free to download. I didn't discover these for several years after Wilhelm, but have found some interesting nuggets in his works, and the freedom from moral absolutes could lessen confusion for the beginner. (It's hard to grasp the whole "superior man" thing of Wilhelm without at least a basic understanding of Taoist and Confucian thought).

Both Language of the Lines and The I Ching Oracle are available in PDF here:

http://www.biroco.com/yijing/richmond.htm

[dobro]

That Nigel Richmond Yi's good. Thanks for the link. I think his English renderings are clear, but his interpretations are pretty sophisticated and really taoist, if I understand taoism.

[rosada]

Shucks, I was reading some site but I'm not sure which one. It was a fellow telling the colors of the trigrams. Anyone know who I'm talking about? Or do you know the colors? Can only remember
-- --
----- Black
-- --

-- --
----- Tourquoise
-----

-- --
-- -- Orange
-----

-----
-- -- Red
------

-- --
-- -- Yellow
-- --

But what color are..?

-----
-----
-- --

-----
-- --
-- --

-----
-----
-----

[jesed]

Hi rosada

Have you checked the Wings? (ok, there's a clue: the great treatise and the discussion on the signs)

Best

[doingnotdoing]

That Nigel Richmond Yi's good. Thanks for the link. I think his English renderings are clear, but his interpretations are pretty sophisticated and really taoist, if I understand taoism.

I like both of Richmond's books. I agree, they're clear and have a nice "vibe" to them - glad you enjoyed them, too.

[dobro]

Yeah, and it's really interesting to read them in the pdf file in their original typewritten form. It's as if it's a lost gem that tragically never made it into published form. A very personal document; even though he keeps saying 'we', you get the strong feeling he's done a Yi for himself.

[stewlsa]

Being new to this myself I have got hold of several books and the ones I found most helpful (apart from Hilary's course and notes) were The Taoist I Ching by Cleary, I Ching Book of Change by Blofeld, Huang's The Complete I Ching and Wilhem's I Ching Book of Changes[/I and Karcher's [I]How to Use the I Ching. Of these my first read was Karcher.but I found Huang and cleary went into more detail and Blofeld has some interesting diagrams and tables to give a different perspective.

One site I found helpful with many texts from various religions was http://www.sacred-texts.com It has hundreds of PDF documents for download on all interests and good for researching other angles on a variety of subjects.

Stewart

[martin]

Yeah, and it's really interesting to read them in the pdf file in their original typewritten form. It's as if it's a lost gem that tragically never made it into published form.

'Language of the Lines' was published in fact. By Wildwood House Ltd in 1977. I have the book here. Found it in a second hand bookshop in London in the early eighties. It was quite a revelation. :)

[sparhawk]

'Language of the Lines' was published in fact. By Wildwood House Ltd in 1977. I have the book here. Found it in a second hand bookshop in London in the early eighties. It was quite a revelation. :)

Yup, have one too. There are some extant copies at Abebooks, if anyone is interested. Steve Marshall did a great job scanning the originals.

[doingnotdoing]

Being new to this myself I have got hold of several books and the ones I found most helpful (apart from Hilary's course and notes) were The Taoist I Ching[ by Cleary, I Ching Book of Change by Blofeld, Huang's The Complete I Ching and Wilhem's I Ching Book of Changes[/I and Karcher's [I]How to Use the I Ching. Of these my first read was Karcher.but I found Huang and cleary went into more detail and Blofeld has some interesting diagrams and tables to give a different perspective.

One site I found helpful with many texts from various religions was http://www.sacred-texts.com It has hundreds of PDF documents for download on all interests and good for researching other angles on a variety of subjects.

Stewart

I think Cleary's Taoist I Ching is valuable for the Introduction alone. The application of the text to Taoist alchemy also can open some eyes to the real potential of the Yi as a path to assimilating wisdom.

BTW, I've spent hours and hours exploring sacred-texts. There's several lifetime's worth of material available there.

[doingnotdoing]

Yeah, and it's really interesting to read them in the pdf file in their original typewritten form. It's as if it's a lost gem that tragically never made it into published form. A very personal document; even though he keeps saying 'we', you get the strong feeling he's done a Yi for himself.

The background story on Richmond at the download page is interesting. It's wonderful that his daughter made it available for electronic distribution - it feels like a deeply personal gift to me. I'm grateful I came across it.