I just discovered this site and am impressed by the resources it contains. I am an avid student of the book, and have labored over the deeper mysteries within it for decades. I have written a piece on a use of it that I have made that as far as I have read thus far is unique, though of course there is a great deal out there that may prove me wrong about that.

http://lecubiste.wordpress.com/2012...ogy-with-the-chinese-book-of-changes-i-ching/

Hope it helps.

Neil

Thanks for the article, lecubiste. My understanding is that you cast a hexagram for the year and link the hexagram to the year by associating the lines with six zodiacal periods:

6. Scorpio and Sagitarius
5. Virgo and Libra
4. Cancer and Leo
3. Taurus and Gemini
2. Pisces and Aries
1. Capricorn and Aquarius

We are now (20 May) in the Taurus and Gemini period, so you see line 3 of your hexagram for the year as governing your life now? Would you please give an example of how you have found guidance from this method.

pocossin said:

Thanks for the article, lecubiste. My understanding is that you cast a hexagram for the year and link the hexagram to the year by associating the lines with six zodiacal periods:

6. Scorpio and Sagitarius
5. Virgo and Libra
4. Cancer and Leo
3. Taurus and Gemini
2. Pisces and Aries
1. Capricorn and Aquarius

We are now (20 May) in the Taurus and Gemini period, so you see line 3 of your hexagram for the year as governing your life now? Would you please give an example of how you have found guidance from this method.

Click to expand...

Glad to: In matter of fact, I actually don't cast for the hexagram. It's more that the book speaks to me, or reveals itself through touch. But one could certainly cast the stalks or coins to find the year.

Let's say that this year is the year of Peace, number 11. The Judgement and Image would apply for the entire year. On December 21st of 2011, I would recognize the transition from the previous year to the current year. These dates are very precise, as the situations change and if you are tuned in you can recognize that transition.

So, having been through lines one and two already, line three became active when the sun entered Taurus in April. Line 3 of 11 then has a specific message - the time is characterized, as an aspect of Peace and the larger hexagram, and in this case, the advice is very specific. So the advice for this line is: In spite of all the disappointments and difficulties, don't lose faith in yourself, and good fortune will not abandon you. In short, don't worry be happy.

In experiencing this time of change for 2 straight months, one really gets the lesson. In that time frame, one starts with an idea and over the course of time it becomes a deep lesson. The Wilhelm-Baynes translation basically says what goes up must come down. This is the period when it is coming down. So there may be people who exited your life in a previous period, an event that was good for you, that come back for reasons that are not helpful or pleasant.

Many successive instances of this down period will occur. The nadir would be on May 21st, the midpoint. After that the negativity will be lessening and be final on June 20th, followed by the solstice and the initiation of line 4. The book says that if one maintains faith and lives in the moment, BE HERE NOW, that one can endure the negativity and survives it.

It is like a sine wave and the descending quartile happens during Taurus, and the upturn back to zero happens during Gemini. Each line has unique characteristics so one is best advised to be ready for the worst, recognize the patterns that are implicit in the book's explanation of the time, and above all, heed the warnings. Much misfortune can be avoided and good fortune embraced when one becomes conscious of the otherwise unconscious processes at work in one's life.