Stephen Karcher's Total I Ching: Myths for Change

[Tohpol]

Got this book in the post recently and I wondered what folks thought about it.

It's very rich and I'm enjoying it so far - I think. It's certainly a "weaving the magic" kind of deal, which at times I found slightly irritating, especially with the repetition. But I'm getting deeper into it now and understanding the formula. There's some real deference to the ancestor tradition and the shamanic world here. It's almost like an I Ching with a "Soul-retrieval" hat on.

Any opinions on this particular book?

Topal

 

[frank_r]

Hello Topal,

I bought this book in september 2003, the first 2 years I used it quit a lot, it gave me some interesting new insights, like the interconnections and transformations. The Myth stories and The Shaman speaks stories.
I have several books of Stephan Karcher and this one I use the most often.

Also the new kind of language he is using. it's like you see a new aspect of the hexagrams.

He is using the ancient characters of LiSe, and also the text she wrote. So the basis is for a great part of LiSe.

Now I use it when I want to study a hexagram from severall perpectives. Because he has such a different look I usually look to the Total I Ching as one of severall translations .
But it's not my first choice, I guess it's my fifth choice.
It is sometimes my first choise when I'm in a mood that I want to have an answer from someting like a "sprit", a voice from an ancient time.

When I buy a new I Ching book I always throw a hexagram with the question. What will this I Ching translation bring me?, this one gave me 45 - 5th line changing in 16.

from the Total I Ching of Karcher: 45 "Gathering Them/Great Works - to gather, assemble, bunch together to collect.

5th line; Gathering Them in ranks. Great Works.
This is not a mistake. You do not need to offer victims.
Trial: an ever-flowing source.
The cause of sorrow disapears.

You have a position in this gathering, a long term source of energy and inspiration.

Topal Good luck with this new book, mayby you can tell me what it is bringing you after using it some time.

Frank

 

[Tohpol]

Hello Topal,

I bought this book in september 2003, the first 2 years I used it quit a lot, it gave me some interesting new insights, like the interconnections and transformations. The Myth stories and The Shaman speaks stories.

I have several books of Stephan Karcher and this one I use the most often.

Also the new kind of language he is using. it's like you see a new aspect of the hexagrams.

He is using the ancient characters of LiSe, and also the text she wrote. So the basis is for a great part of LiSe.

Now I use it when I want to study a hexagram from severall perpectives. Because he has such a different look I usually look to the Total I Ching as one of severall translations .
But it's not my first choice, I guess it's my fifth choice.
It is sometimes my first choise when I'm in a mood that I want to have an answer from someting like a "sprit", a voice from an ancient time.

When I buy a new I Ching book I always throw a hexagram with the question. What will this I Ching translation bring me?, this one gave me 45 - 5th line changing in 16.

from the Total I Ching of Karcher: 45 "Gathering Them/Great Works - to gather, assemble, bunch together to collect.

5th line; Gathering Them in ranks. Great Works.
This is not a mistake. You do not need to offer victims.
Trial: an ever-flowing source.
The cause of sorrow disapears.

You have a position in this gathering, a long term source of energy and inspiration.

Topal Good luck with this new book, mayby you can tell me what it is bringing you after using it some time.

Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your thoughts.

I wasn't aware that LiSe had an input. Of course! The ancient characters - interesting.

I'm very much like you I tend to use Karcher (so far) as a fourth reference. It's not always necessary for some questions but for the deeper, searching questions they seem fitting. Currently I consult, Wilhelm, Lofting, Nigel Redmond, Sorrel, Bradford Hatcher's work and LiSe's site plus a few others. But there's always more.

I'll certainly report back about Karcher and look into some of his other books.

Thanks again Frank,

Topal

 

[Trojina]

I've found a number of his books repeat earlier ones - even though they have different titles they are still the same book, seem more like revised editions. I was a little disapointed when i bought Myths for Change that it was so similar to The elements of the I Ching - so if you check out other books I would see how different they are to what you have before actually buying them

 

[Tohpol]

I've found a number of his books repeat earlier ones - even though they have different titles they are still the same book, seem more like revised editions. I was a little disapointed when i bought Myths for Change that it was so similar to The elements of the I Ching - so if you check out other books I would see how different they are to what you have before actually buying them

Thanks for that.

Just to recap on my usage of the Total I Ching. After about 3 weeks I'm very impressed with Karcher's book - he's done a wonderful job. I wasn't used to the style but now that I've got into it, it has opened up the IC for me much more and helped me understand some hex lines that I couldn't get my head around for many years.

There's something very reverent and sacred about this edition. It's like he's doffing his hat at the ancestors and archetypes and as such, is creating a solid and valuable connection towards such collective energies. When we approach it in the right way we can partake in that connection and receive a quality link-up.

My dreams have come back to life a little bit too with some symbolic imagery that seemed to have disappeared. I'm a great believer in dream imagery as teaching aids in combination with the IC. I don't mean dream dictionary rubbish - much deeper than that sort of thing. There does seem to be parallel sets of imagery from the IC and my dreams, both from the past and the more recent present. Nothing unusual in that but the new stimulus of this book I think has had something to do with the clarity and poignancy of those dreams.

So, a definite thumbs-up from me.

Topal

 

[bruce_g]

Topal, in case you haven't already read Jung's Man and His Symbols, it's a very interesting classic, which I've found to be helpful in decoding my dreams.

 

[Tohpol]

Topal, in case you haven't already read Jung's Man and His Symbols, it's a very interesting classic, which I've found to be helpful in decoding my dreams.

Thanks Bruce, I'll track that one down. I have Jung's "Dreams, Memories and Reflections" but not much else.

Topal