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Divination tips

‘DIY’ tips for I Ching divination

aerial view of road winding through forest

How Yi helps with planning

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series How Yi helps

Not just for decisions It’s no secret that Yi is tremendously helpful when it comes to decision-making. You look at your options, single out the most likely one, and ask Yi, ‘What about this?’ And the oracle tells you what to expect if you take that road – be that… Read more »How Yi helps with planning

psychic with crystal ball

Not being psychic

Do you need to be psychic to read the I Ching? Well, if you do, I’m in trouble. Yet this is something readers – maybe mostly tarot readers – often claim: that their psychic powers have been apparent from early childhood, and it was always clear that they were destined… Read more »Not being psychic

rotary dial telephone with handset raised

Divination is a relationship

Talking with Yi is a conversation – and with regular readings, we develop a relationship with the oracle. We habitually talk about it as a person: ‘Yi’ rather than ‘the Yi’; something we can ‘get to know’ rather than just ‘learn’; something that speaks. (The roots of the word ‘oracle’ are… Read more »Divination is a relationship

smoke rising from incense burner

Advice from Zhu Xi

One of many interesting things I found in Richard J. Smith’s The I Ching: a biography was an account of Zhu Xi’s approach to divination. Zhu Xi (1120-1200) wrote firmly of Yi’s identity as an oracle, not just a ‘book of wisdom’. In addition to creating the yarrow method we use now,… Read more »Advice from Zhu Xi