Carrie Link

BOOK OF CHANGES

A dear friend introduced me to the ancient study of the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Changes. She taught me how to throw the coins, determine which side was Yin (tails), and which side was Yang (heads).


She taught me how to add them up, record the results, look for changes, and interpret the readings. She taught me how to set my intention, journal the process, and reflect on the "answers."

It's simple really, you have three coins, and you toss them while asking a question to God/The Oracle/The Universe/Your own higher self. The Yang side is odd, 3 "points," and the Yin side is even, 2 "points." As you toss the coins six times, you keep track of the "score," and those numbers form trigrams. An odd number is illustrated with a straight line, an even number with a broken line.

Then you just check the I Ching chart to see which hexagram represents your answer.



Then you consult a book which explains each number.



Or, you just skip all that and do it on-line in about two seconds.

Today my heart is heavy with the loss of that friendship. I turn to the coins. I toss them with the question, "Shall I initiate contact?" I want the answer to be yes, but my heart knows, "If you have to ask, the answer is no."

I get 5. Hsu/Waiting (Nourishment):

"WAITING. If you are sincere,
You have light and success.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal. Such certainty alone gives that light which leads to success. This leads to the perseverance that brings good fortune and bestows power to cross the great water.

One is faced with a danger that has to be overcome. Weakness and impatience can do nothing. Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness [with himself]. It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water–that is to say, he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger."

And so I wait.





* Photo from flickr.com