I Ching, Therefore I am

In this article, I will walk you through the process of generating one of the 64 Hexagrams of the I Ching using the Yarrow Stalk method.  You will need the following 

• 50 Yarrow Stalks
• A flat surface to work 
• Pen and Paper 

Before You Begin 

Set aside at least a half hour to complete the process from beginning to end. When you start it should take you around 20 minutes to generate your hexagram and then about another 10 to meditation on it's meaning. Ensure that you won't be disturbed or interrupted during this process. Once you start, don't stop until you are finished generating your hexagram. 

When consulting the I Ching, you should have a question or issue in mind about which you would like the oracle to provide insight. Meditation on your question or issue as you go through the process. 

Step One

Start out with 50 yarrow stalks, which is traditions, but for my purposes I am using 50 specially prepared wooden dowels. 

Step Two

Remove one stalk from the pile and place it horizontally at the top of your work space. This stalk is called the Observer. 

Step Three:

Divide the remaining stalks into two random piles. Place one pile on the left and another on the right. 

Step Four

Remove one stalk from the pile on the right and place it between your pinky and ring finger. Then pick up the pile on the left and place it in your left hand. 

Step Five 

Take the stalks in your left hand and remove them four at a time until you have four or less remaining. 

Step Six 

When you have 4 or less remaining stalks, place these between your ring and middle finger. 

Step Seven 

Pick up the pile on the right and place them in your left hand. Count them off by four again until you have four or less stalks remaining. When you are done, you should have a total of either 5 or 9 stalks -  place these vertically across the Observer. 

Step Eight 

Perform steps 3-7 again until you have three piles laid vertically across the Observer. 

Step Nine:

In this step, you will calcualte your values. As you can see from the image above we have three groups of stalks. The first group contains 5 stalks, the second has 4, and the third has 8. Keeping in mind that a sum of 4 or 5 has a value of 3, and a sum of 8 or 9 has a value of 3 we will convert these numbers to the following values:

3 = 3 + 2 = 8 

Even numbers are represented by a Yin or unbroken line   _____ while Odd numbers are represented by a Yang or broken line __ __

You will now draw an unbroken lines on the bottom of your paper. This is the first line of your Hexagram. 

Step Ten

Repeat all these steps until you have six lines in total.

Example 

For the purpose of this blog entry, I have gone through all the steps to create a Hexagram. You can see the results of each division of the yarrow stalks below. 

6.  3 + 3 + 2 = 8 =  __ __ 

5.  3 + 3 + 3 = 9 =  ____   *

4.  3 + 2 + 2 = 7 =  ____

3. 3 + 2 + 2 = 7 =   ____   

2. 3 + 3 + 3 = 9 =   __ __ * 

1. 3 + 3 + 2 = 8 =  __ __ 

You'll notice that lines 2 and 5 have an asterisk next to them. This asterisk indicates a Changing Line. A Changing Line occurs when your sum adds up to either 6 or 9. These Changing Lines add an extra dimension to the interpretation of the Hexagram. 

Our final hexagram looks something like this 

__  __ 
_____
_____
_____
__  __
__  __

I have created a worksheet to assist the diviner in recording their hexagrams. You will find a link to this worksheet below in the links section.  

Using a cheat sheet such as the one below, we can quickly determine the number of our Hexagram.

As you can see, the top three lines represent the trigram for Lake and the bottom three represent the trigram for Mountain. This would be expressed as Lake over Mountain. These two symbols intersect at number 31. Therefore, the Hexagram is number 31. 

Using a good reference book (see link below), we can look up Hexagram 31, which is invariably called Influencing, Wooing, or Mutual Attraction - although there are many other names depending on the translation you use. You would then read the interpretation for the Hexagram as well as the Changing Lines. Meditating on the meanings of these lines you would then arrive at a synthesized interpretation. 

Below is one possible interpretation

While you have the power to influence others, now is the time for a humble and restrained approach. Avoid arrogance and focus on building genuine connections through active engagement. Show sincere interest in others, communicate thoughtfully, and invest time and effort in cultivating meaningful relationships. This balanced approach will be more effective than forceful tactics in achieving your goals.

Finally, you would then apply the interpretation to your original question or issue that about which you asked the oracle. My take on this is that "you can get what you want, but you are going to have to work for it. However, it is important that you take a gentle approach over a more aggressive one."

Carolina Dean 

12th House Books 

Links: 

• The I Ching Bookshelf 
• Blank I Ching Worksheets
• Yarrow Stalks