I’ve been hearing from quite a few people lately who are wondering what to do when they’re consulting the I Ching, and their coins behave oddly. What if one rolls away? What if it ends up under the furniture? Or propped up against something so it doesn’t land flat?
Of course, if you toss enough coins enough times, all the strange and improbably possibilities will show up sooner or later. Like one coin landing with perfect precision on top of another one (100% overlap), or a coin actually landing and balancing on its rim.
What, I’m asked, is the advice for these situations? And as far as I know, there isn’t any. If the coin’s landed anything other than completely vertical, then it at least has an upper face for you to count. If it’s on its rim, I suppose you could jump up and down next to it for a while in a ritually significant way…
What do I do? I consult with sixteen beads 😉
Any suggestions or sources of advice for people consulting the I Ching with coins?
I’ve wondered this a thousand times, as my coins roll and bounce off a wall, or my foot or a chair leg (sometimes I toss them as I’m sitting on the floor).
I just kind of figure that where I am and what’s around me is part of the particular moment, and if the coins bump something or roll someplace weird before they land flat, so be it. As long as it comes up heads or tails, that’s what it is, under the couch or no — and if it lands on its side, I retoss that coin.
Make sense?
It does to me. 🙂
If coins do not land flat (so as one side is clearly visable) then i usually take it to mean that the Yi does not want to answer the question at that pariualr time and i should ask again at another time.
Sometimes it is that the question is innapropriate and needs to be re-worked or abandoned. According to the particualr nature of your inquiry, you will know which one applies.
I think it’s the Yi’s way of saying think through the issue a little more, take more time to explore your concerns and then consult me again, when the particular issue is clearer in your mind and you are ready to recieve an answer.
By doing this (exploring the issue a little more), sometimes the Yi answers the question without you having to ask!
it will be interesting to hear other peoples ideas…
I hope this helps
Good thought. Anything that prompts more exploration round the question tends to be a good idea… 🙂
When this happens to me, what i tend to think is that i’m lazy in not using the stalks! But seriously, i posit betwixt the two positions offered, and generally just pick them all up, try to consciously forget what was layed out in comparison, and just throw again. I’ve never had a problem with this. But i do think that the Yi is saying something like “put more mind into your question through the way you throw the coins…”, though i can’t be totally sure.
if i drop a coin on the floor, i usually look and see if it’s on heads or tails and use that as my answer. like, i think that the Yi is making it slip out of my hands to result in its fate.
but as said above, it’s a good thought thinking that you may need to rethink a question or start all over.
this has been great, helpful input.