puzzeled

[chachee]

Okay i have been working with the i ching for a couple of years and always worked the coins as i was taught.So i have a good friend who also has been tossing coins,Iam not sure how long a year or two,the other day he came to visit,and i wanted him to check out my new coins i had purchased a few months ago,they are antique i ching coins.He askes if he could through them ,of couse i said,lets do a reading.SO he tosses his coins six times writes down the 6 hexagrams,umm i think to myself this process can be long for me at times.so he counts up his 2 heads w/his tails his 2 tails w/his head and so on,sometimes getting 3 tails and assighns their numbers giving a 8 for some lines a 4 for another, he then adds them all up to grt his hex.So the lines that the coins were all three the same were his changing lines??? Did I learn something wrong?? or is there no right or wrong way to divinate, to throw coins.Because I was always under the impression you had to have all three coins match to get the line??Of course i did not understand this method,and think maybe I dont know everything,soi will keep my mouth shut... IS THERE A RIGHTOR WRONG WAY IF IT WORKS FOR YOU??

 

[dobro p]

I'll tell you about two things.

a) Here's the usual way of using coins to consult the Yi. You throw three coins at a time, and you do it six times, until you've built up an entire hexagram. The first time you throw the three coins, you get the bottom line of the hexagram, and you build the hexagram one line at a time, bottom to top.

Each line can be solid or broken, and each line can also be changing or unchanging. We assign number values to each side of each coin: heads is worth 3 and tails is 2. So when you throw the three coins, there are four possibilities:

1 Three heads is 3 + 3 + 3 = 9. Nine is a solid, changing line.

2 Two heads and a tail is 3 + 3 + 2 = 8. Eight is a broken, unchanging line.

3 One head and two tails is 3 + 2 + 2 = 7. Seven is a solid, unchanging line.

4 Three tails is 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. Six is a broken, changing line.

When you throw the three coins, start from the bottom and work up, one line at a time. As you throw the coins each time, add up the values and draw each line on a piece of paper. If you get a 9, draw a solid line and write '9' beside it. If you get an 8, draw a broken line and write '8' beside it. If you get a 7, draw a solid line and write '7' beside it. If you get a 6, draw a broken line and write '6' beside it.

When you're done, get your I Ching. First, read the main text for the hexagram you've drawn - this is the main theme. Then read the texts for any individual lines that you got either a '9' or a '6' for - they're special and apply to your situation and the question you asked. Ignore the '7' and '8' lines - they're unchanging, stable, and don't apply to your situation or the question you asked.

That's the heart of it. There's more, but you should master the basics first.

b) Okay, here's the second thing I want to tell you. Although the method I just described is the traditional way used by 99.99% of the coin tossers on the planet, I suppose ANY method that allowed you to produce a six-line hexagram figure with changing and unchanging lines is just fine, as long you use the same method every time. See, the Yi knows what method you're using, and gives you an appropriate result.

Good luck.

 

[fkegan]

I agree with Dobro that describes the standard technique, I believe that is given in Wilhelm. In terms of your more general question--my experience has taught me that need is the only essential. If you truly need a particular oracle, the numbers will stand out on their own such as waking up at a specific hour and minute that you read as numbers of oracle hexagrams. More generally, whatever technique or procedure you use will work for you, a wide variety are mentioned by various authors, many of them clearly not workable objectively, but they do work for those who use them and put them in their books.

I had one occasion where a friend who kept a Yi journal with her questions and oracle results (both oracle hexagrams and later events) used a totally different system from me, taking tails (with the coin value) as yang and filling in her lines from the top down. These oracles worked fine for her, and when I considered the same question and took her oracle and rewrote in my my--the oracle that resulted explained her situation and question to my perspective.
Objective and academic perspectives have correct answers, subjective or occult perspectives have personally relevant answers where the details are fluid and the insights are like crossbow bolts to the heart.