For countless centuries emperor and peasant, scholar and unlearned alike have sought to understand the timeless wisdom and eerie divinations of the I Ching, translated, the Book of Changes. Using the simple tools of three coins, one can seek insight from the I Chlng regarding whatever question is on one's heart.

There is a question burning in your heart and mind. Think about it and then write it down, privately, on a piece of paper. Writing the question down helps you to focus on the precise subject being asked about, thereby avoiding ambiguity. Be sure to word your question so that it requires a commentary type of answer ... i.e., do not ask a question that requires a 'yes' or 'no' answer. For example, ask "What if..." or "What is this all about...?"

With your mind focused on the question you've written down, gather three coins of the same size into your hands, shake them until they are randomly arranged in your hand, then cast them gently upon the table in front of you. Notice how the coins have landed with either beads' or 'tails' facing up.

Match the beads or tails' pattern of the cast coins with one of the 4 patterns shown in the following table. Make note of the associated line form next to the matched pattern and write it down. (Note that if you cast three-of-a-kind, the line form will have a dot after it). Repeat this coin casting process 2 more times. each time placing the next line form on top of the previous one. Having done this 3 times, you will have a 3 line figure known as a trigram.

You need to create 2 trigrams to make a full hexagram. So, create a second trigram using the same process above. When done you will have created a hexagram consisting of a lower trigram (the first one) and an upper trigram (the second one).

Cross reference the lower trigram with the upper trigram using the chart below. For the moment, ignore any dots that may appear beside any of the line forms. Make note of the hexagram number that the two trigrams form, and turn to the page with that number.

The hexagram you have created contains words of insight pertaining to your question. Seek to apply the words you're given to the question you asked, in a sincere and introspective way. Suspend preconceptions that may cloud your vision regarding the subject under consideration. Your intuition will confirm whether or not you have been enlightened. Sometimes you may not understand the full meaning of your hexagram, as it relates to the question you asked. Whether or not so, be certain that the question you asked is the question that is truly the one most on your mind at the time you cast the coins. Since the pattern of the falling coins is determined, in part, by the cosmic vibrations emanating from your mind, it is possible for the I Ching to answer the question that is really on your mind and not the one you wrote down. if the two are not the same.

The hexagram you have created contains words of insight pertaining to your question. Seek to apply the words you're given to the question you asked, in a sincere and introspective way. Suspend preconceptions that may cloud your vision regarding the subject under consideration. Your intuition will confirm whether or not you have been enlightened. Sometimes you may not understand the full meaning of your hexagram, as it relates to the question you asked. Whether or not so, be certain that the question you asked is the question that is truly the one most on your mind at the time you cast the coins. Since the pattern of the falling coins is determined, in part, by the cosmic vibrations emanating from your mind, it is possible for the I Ching to answer the question that is really on your mind and not the one you wrote down. if the two are not the same.

You may have cast one or more "three-of-a-kind" patterns (3-heads or 3-tails), resulting in a 'dotted' line form in your hexagram. If so, there remains further information for you from the I Ching. The dotted line means that your hexagram is soon to undergo a change. To learn how it is going to change, you must transform the current hexagram into its future form. You do this by converting the dotted line forms into their opposite forms, that is solid lines become dashed lines and dashed lines become solid lines. For example.. using the procedure described above, look up the meaning of the second hexagram, realizing that this second hexagram is predicting a likely future condition regarding the question that you've asked.