Bravo!
You’ve completed the Beginners’ I Ching Course, and you know your way round an I Ching reading:
- how to cast it
- how it fits together
- how to start interpreting…
Now…
What’s next?
What I want for you is a lasting, dependable, supportive, inspiring, challenging, reassuring, funny, profound relationship with Yi. (That’s pretty much Clarity’s reason for being.) So… here’s what will help you to develop that:
Did you start in the middle?
If you found your way to this course from the free online I Ching, then you probably started with part 4, ‘Overview of a reading’. In that case I’d really strongly recommend you take a few steps back to go forward, and cast your next reading with coins.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the online reading. The oracle isn’t in any way fussy about how you consult it – it can and will give powerful, very real answers through your computer. (Experience has shown this beyond any doubt.)
However, you get a much clearer sense of what a reading is and where it comes from when you cast your own and actually write down your hexagram and see it take shape, change any changing lines and look up the answer. It’s a bit slower than an online reading, which is also good, and you get to see the sheer simplicity of the process.
So that’s my first recommendation: cast at least one reading by hand, if you haven’t done so already.
Got a book?
You need one, of course – a good one that includes a real translation. Here’s a page of recommended books, and here’s how to recognise a good one.
Got a journal?
You need this, too. To develop a robust relationship with the Yi, you’ll want to look back over your readings. You’ll want a reminder of what it said – and eventually you’ll cast a reading and think, ‘Haven’t I seen that before…?’ and want to be able to look this up. Scraps of paper are not going to do the job.
Basically, you need to be able to a) save your readings where they won’t get lost and b) find one again when you need it. There’s specialist journal software available from Clarity (try it for free), or if you prefer writing by hand you could combine that with keeping a list of readings and dates on your computer.
Live your readings!
Click to download Seven Ways to Live a Reading and explore some different ways to remember your readings, carry them with you and integrate them into your life.
Stay in touch
Become a free member here: join a few thousand others as a Friend. Then you can participate in the I Ching Community – and even if you’re not a forum person, I can keep in touch with a monthly email of links to I-Ching-related articles, conversations and news – let you know when there’s a new free download, for instance, or when I’m next running a class.
Deeper study
When you want to take your studies further, I can help.
I’d most recommend you join Change Circle: a private community which is also the most economical way to access what I offer (including the Foundations Course) and get individual support.
But do have a look round the shop and see what’s a good fit for you now.
