I Ching

Editors note: this page needs to be merged with I-Ching and a redirect put in place.

The I ching (book of changes) is an anciet chinese scroll used by taoists (and others) for a variety of purposes. It is used most often as an oracle, but oracular use is but one of its leser functions. Originally, tortoise shells were cast into fires for an alloted time and allowed to crack from the heat. the tortoise shell is divided down the middle by six lines. A cracked line bacame a yin line, and a line that remained solid became a yang line (see yin and yang). later, yarrow stalks, coins and even cards were used instead of the tortoise shell. The querent focusses on their question while dividing the yarrow stalks, or tossing the coins. The outcome is six lines, making the upper gua (trigram) and the lower gua. Each of the eight trigram has an archetypal meaning as well as a direction on the compass. Two trigrams make a hexagram. There are 64 hexagrams (8x8=64) in total, and within their permutations, all forms of change are said to take place. The hexagram is said to reflect the present state of the querent, with moving lines showing where the change is leading (if effort is not made to change the direction). It reflects a finite but unbounded system of interlocking processes, each of which could change at any moment into any of the others. It is also used as a guide to meditation, as each of the hexagrams reflects an archetypal image. Understanding of the I ching is supposed to bring understanding of life (wisdom) and understanding of the mind (enlightenment).