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Memorizing Hexagrams

lexington

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Dear all,

I have recently been told that the first step into Yijing studies is to memorize the hexagrams, also from scanning thru the Ta Chuan, I did read about knowing all the hexagrams.

I would like to know what are some methods used to memorize the hexagrams?

I apologize if this is not an appropriate question.

Thank you
 

pocossin

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Lexington, welcome to Clarity. By 'memorize the hexagrams' do you mean memorizing the yin and yang line patterns or do you mean memorizing the appended text? If you favor the visual, the easiest way to memorize the hexagrams is by seeing them as 64 objects -- 27 as a mouth, 9 as a shoe, 50 as a ding, and so on. If you favor the verbal, ideally you would memorize the Chinese text.
 

Trojina

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Dear all,

I have recently been told that the first step into Yijing studies is to memorize the hexagrams, also from scanning thru the Ta Chuan, I did read about knowing all the hexagrams.

I would like to know what are some methods used to memorize the hexagrams?

I apologize if this is not an appropriate question.

Thank you

I don't think theres any need to memorise hexagrams. If you consult often enough over time you remember them anyway without even trying. I know all the lines by memory but I never tried to learn them....what would be the point


However there are a whole series of memorising threads here http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?t=3795 they are a very rich resource indeed thanks to Rosada :bows:
 

rosada

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Thanks for mentioning the Book of Merit project chingching cause we're kinds stuck here lately and could use some imput!

rosada
 

nicky_p

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I apologize if this is not an appropriate question.

Hi lexington,
Firstly, I don't think it's an inappropriate question. It can be daunting to know how/where to start. In any case appropriateness is just someone's opinion ;)

I wouldn't say that I personally set out to memorise the hexagrams but like trojan said after consulting so often they sink in (although I'm not at the level of knowing all lines of by heart!) For me, I remember the hex names but they're also associated with a feeling and as such hard to put into words. I think it really depends on how your psyche is set up. Some people are visual and others are emotive or audio. In some ways it may not be helpful at all to say that you have to find your own way :s For me setting out to memorise something would make it purely academic but that may work for you. I guess my only real advice is not to use it as a stick to beat yourself with. If you decide that you're going to learn the text and it's just not grabbing you -try something different.

Actually, just remembering back, I decided to have a conversation with my yi by opening my wilhelm and reading where my left thumb lay.

Anyway, enough rambling :) Good luck and have fun
Nicky
 
S

sooo

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I would like to know what are some methods used to memorize the hexagrams?

Imo, hexagrams and lines aren't memorized the way one memorizes an alphabet or numbers or names, but more the way letters form words which form meanings, or the way numbers can quantify, or how names can help identify. Rather than memorize, I suggest to simply familiarize with their various features and functions. This way they stay alive, breathing and inter-relational, rather than frozen and inert.

Enjoy the excitement of discovery each time anew. In this sense, one never fully memorizes hexagrams, but continues to familiarize and utilize, and apply ones own cognitive mind and intuitive senses.
 

rosada

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I think it's been really helpful to have memorized the chart for looking up the hexagrams. I did this by writing out the chart many times, over and over, and filling in the ones I knew like The Creative and The Receptive and then all the ones that were the same trigram doubled like 30, The Clinging and 51. The Arousing etc. and then from there any others I knew and finally I could fill in them all. I would also try to go through the names in order to put myself to sleep at night.

Once I had the chart and the names down I started work on reading each hexagram through. Many of us when we are starting out read the lines only when we are consulting them as an oracle. We then have all these disjointed random lines floating around in our brains but we miss the overarching truths. I think reading each hexagram through so you have a general sense of what it's message is is more important than actually memorizing the lines.

However, if you have memorized the lines - or at least the hexagrams - I think you'll find you tend to use the I Ching more and thus get more out of it. Having it memorized makes it so much easier for you to consider various ideas and perspectives.

I found the book The I Ching Made Easy was a particularly fun and easy read that will get you to read the entire I Ching, maybe in just a few days.

I think the "Images" in Wilhelm's translation are particularly worth memorizing, as they state what a superior man would do in all situations. If you write them down on 3x5 cards with the name and number of the hexagram on one side and the words of the image on the other you can use this like a deck of flash cards.

I found it was also helpful to write out the lines on 3x5 cards and then sort them in to different categories - such as, read all the lines in the first position, read all the lines in the second position etc.

Sort the hexagrams by trigrams, that is, list all the hexagrams that have THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN as the bottom trigram, list all that have it as the top trigram.

Participate in the Shared Readings forum.

Best wishes,
Rosada
 

nicky_p

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Wow! All of a sudden I'm feeling work-shy! It's funny how different people approach things. I find Rosada's way truly awe-inspiring: impressive and a little bit scary :eek: I guess there are others who could think of nothing they would enjoy more :) Just goes to show: different horses for different courses ;)
 

celtic

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I plan on doing that with the symbols and names so that I can be more familiar with the book and then at a later date add the images.
The actual memorization process won't, I think be hard.
Example, I already know the trigrem names/shapes. I made up my own mnemonics for them (example: Wind I envisaged as whistling through the small opening at the bottom).

So, for me to memorize the symbol will just be associating the two trigram names. Of course, this isn't actually memorizing the symbols, but close enough :)

Then associate that to the name.

Associating the number to the symbol and name is just memorizing a numbered list using the peg system based on phonetics (I like Harry Lorayne's system best).

Hope that helps if you'r planning something along those lines (no pun intended :))
 

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