Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
is it possible to cast a hexagram for someone else?
Recently I had a Zoom meeting with a friend and while we were talking my friend asked me to consult the Yi because of some problems he was experiencing. At that moment I didn't know whether I could cast the hexagram or if he should do it. So, to be sure I asked him to look for 3 identical coins, explained the procedure, and made him cast his own hexagram.
This made me think, is it possible to cast a hexagram for someone else? Is casting a hexagram something personal in a sense that the person asking has to do the casting or does it not matter?
Does anyone have experience with it?
Downside to this - while I haven't met any newcomers who'd 'just chuck coins' without really asking their question
That's one of the reasons I prefer beads! But if I do use coins, I usually use a cup and shake the coins in the cup and plonk them on the table.Also you may first need to do a preliminary course in how to throw coins without throwing them in such as way that they will career wildly off the table/into someone else's coffee cup/under the counter. It's surprising how an experienced Yinger knows the amount of force to use in throwing coins in many environments, it's something one just picks up. The inexperienced people I've seen throw appear to have no foreknowledge of the, well, I don't know what you'd call it, aerodynamics of the penny coin for example. I've had to say 'When I say 'throw them' I don't mean at me/I don't mean at the wall/ I don't mean on the floor - you just shake them....and..'... well all I can say is it helps to have a stack of the coins you are using on hand to account for natural loss and wastage.
No doubt you're right.That's because you are talking about people who come to you specifically for a reading or learning. I'm talking about people I'm just with, not customers/students just people. People I know who have no interest in Yi but want to know what it says about something.
By the time they have approached you they are already invested so they are going to be putting more in. With friends who just ask casually when you're out with them it's quite different.
It's surprising how an experienced Yinger knows the amount of force to use in throwing coins in many environments,
Just mature wisdom.There speaks the voice of pacification
It's not just newcomers.Downside to this - while I haven't met any newcomers who'd 'just chuck coins' without really asking their question, a first encounter with the coin method can be pretty bewildering. The mental arithmetic can take so much attention there isn't enough left over for what it's about.
It's not just inexperienced people.The inexperienced people I've seen throw appear to have no foreknowledge of the, well, I don't know what you'd call it, aerodynamics of the penny coin for example.
Those are two of the reasons I prefer software.That's one of the reasons I prefer beads!
In all seriousness, I get how coins, marbles, beads, etc. could feel like a better connection and software more distant. I manage to connect with clicks, I guess. But I don't particularly like software that spits out a hexagram in one click. It's too abrupt - as Trojina said, I don't feel like I've actually cast my reading, although I'm sure the reading is still good.
Also I think it's probably natural for most people when first encountering an oracle not to take it seriously. Really why would they, unless they're genetically predisposed to think it's possible to get answers from the universe from cards or spilling coins on a tabletop.
I certainly didn't. The earliest Yi readings I remember did nothing to disabuse that simply because I had no idea what I was being told. Now that I've learned about those hexagrams I understand those readings.
I can understand that, too. People's preferences are twisty and idiosyncratic, how very odd! (By which I mean, not odd at all.)Actually if using software at all I only use the one click, I think the whole rigmarole of 6 clicks feels a bit superfluous for me.
I thought that's what you meant here, sorry for misunderstanding.It's like you are responding to someone who complained that when people first encounter Yi they don't take it seriously. No one has said that though so......
The problem with getting non Yi users to cast coins is I find they seem to do it without thought this is because they don't know what Yi is [etc.]
Hmm. I'm more or less happy with my I Ching android app. I don't always take my beads out with me or when I go away, but I've always got my phone. And it's easy when you're out in public. But if I'm doing it for someone else, I'd really prefer to get them to play with the beads or throw the coins. Maybe it's theatrics. Yes, probably theatrics. I don't think it really makes any difference, but it gets them involved. And I think people do feel more involved with old analogue processes rather than new digital ones.In all seriousness, I get how coins, marbles, beads, etc. could feel like a better connection and software more distant. I manage to connect with clicks, I guess. But I don't particularly like software that spits out a hexagram in one click. It's too abrupt - as Trojina said, I don't feel like I've actually cast my reading, although I'm sure the reading is still good.
Which one do you use? I tried one a couple of months ago and wasn't very happy with it.I'm more or less happy with my I Ching android app.
The Digital Illusion I Ching app. It's open source, no ads, you can set the probabilities of getting moving lines to either the yarrow stalk or coin method, and it provides slightly abbreviated versions of Wilhelm's commentaries.Which one do you use? I tried one a couple of months ago and wasn't very happy with it.
Maybe it's theatrics. Yes, probably theatrics. I don't think it really makes any difference, but it gets them involved. And I think people do feel more involved with old analogue processes rather than new digital ones.
Play with the settings a bit. You can do it manually, throw real coins, then enter into the app. That can be quite useful. Or you can cast each line automatically.Am looking at it in the Google Play store. "Swipe up to confirm a line, down to erase it"??
No argument from me. But then, I wear a wind-up clockwork watch. I write with a fountain pen. I lock my phone in a cupboard at around nine each night and don't turn it on until midday. I was even considering buying a second-hand typewriter, if only as a museum piece. Sigh. I'm a dinosaur. My time is nearing its end.I don't think it's theatrics it's just there's more space and time to have the conversation, to connect, to be with. I would never ask an important question on any of these confounded apps. I actually hate them, and I think they are the reason we have people posting 30 questions in one sitting in SR. If they had to throw coins I don't think that would happen. For one thing I think consulting really takes some psychic energy, it makes me tired, I can't cast more than 3 times with coins and I really feel saturated, I have more than enough input for a while. It's like having an in depth conversation, you need a break to absorb what's said.
With the online tools/aps it's just click click click.
I don't particularly like software that spits out a hexagram in one click.
...got a lot of emails from people who agreed with Trojina about superfluous clicks. They were quite annoyed I'd taken their one-click reading away. I put it back. And this is why both are there.Actually if using software at all I only use the one click, I think the whole rigmarole of 6 clicks feels a bit superfluous for me.
But then, I wear a wind-up clockwork watch. I write with a fountain pen. I lock my phone in a cupboard at around nine each night and don't turn it on until midday. I was even considering buying a second-hand typewriter, if only as a museum piece. Sigh. I'm a dinosaur. My time is nearing its end.
...got a lot of emails from people who agreed with Trojina about superfluous clicks. They were quite annoyed I'd taken their one-click reading away. I put it back. And this is why both are there.
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).