Okay, so today I decided to mess around with the I Ching, specifically hexagram 58, which is all about joy and exchange. I’ve been feeling a little stuck lately, so I figured, why not give it a shot? Maybe the ancient wisdom can shake something loose.
First, I grabbed my three coins. I don’t have any fancy yarrow stalks, so coins it is. I’ve used these same three coins for years, they feel like they have some good juju in them now.
I cleared my mind, or at least I tried to. It’s tough with the kids yelling in the background, but I focused on my intention: “What do I need to know about bringing more joy and positive exchange into my life right now?”
Then, I started flipping. Six times, you know? Heads is 3, tails is 2. Each flip, I added up the numbers and figured out if it was a solid line (yang) or a broken line (yin). Here’s how it went down:
- Flip 1: Heads, Heads, Tails. That’s 3 + 3 + 2 = 8. A broken line (yin).
- Flip 2: Tails, Tails, Tails. That’s 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. A broken line (yin), and it’s a changing line!
- Flip 3: Heads, Heads, Heads. That’s 3 + 3 + 3 = 9. A solid line (yang), also changing!
- Flip 4: Heads, Tails, Tails. That’s 3 + 2 + 2 = 7. A solid line (yang).
- Flip 5: Heads, Heads, Tails. Another 8, so another broken line (yin).
- Flip 6: Heads, Tails, Tails. And another 7, making a solid line (yang).
So, I ended up with broken, broken, solid, solid, broken, solid. With the changing lines, I knew I also had a second hexagram to consider. The changing lines in the second and third place turned those lines to their opposites, so the second hexagram became: broken, solid, broken, solid, broken, solid.
I looked up the first hexagram, and boom, there it was: 58, Dui (The Joyous, Lake). The second one, after accounting for the changing lines, turned out to be 47, Kun (Oppression/Exhaustion).
I then sat down and start thinking about how to use this knowledge to guide my action. It’s a really meaningful experience to use it.
