r/IChingDivination

I've published a detailed essay on why translating the classical Chinese Six Lines (Liu Yao) divination system into English is not a matter of language conversion, but a form of knowledge engineering.

The essay covers: why terminology must be designed as a system across multiple classical texts, why the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches require symbolic replacement rather than pinyin or zodiac animals, why case translation must preserve the full chain of reasoning, why translator's notes must bridge cultural and historical gaps, and why these classics were selected and sequenced for English readers.

Full text available here: I Ching Stream: The First Systematic Entry of Classical Chinese I Ching Divination into the English World

https://www.ichingstream.com/methodology/

Discussion and feedback welcome.

Hello all
I am an I ching user since 45 years. I have looked at may different orderings of the hexagrams, and always expected to find the continuing story, but any try at ordering them by semantics failed when using rows and columns. There was no order.

Today I come from a really different angle, the genetic code. With its four letters and 64 words. I discovered that only one order works to organize and serialize the RNA codons with the smallest, least difference inbetween adjacent codons. The same mathematical rules applied to the i ching (using bigrams instead of trigrams) shows a fascinating order of the hexagram sequences. They tell three stories. Earth - Man - Heaven.

The casting is like any other one, but under the hood we have mathematical order.

Casting a hexagram and clicking it shows a flip and a story button.

The Flip is showing the complement hexagram, the Story explains.

On the bottom is a help section where i show the mathematics in more detail.

I have written the mathematical proof that the 64 codon RNA code and by extension the 64 hexagram I Ching have to use ONE specific order to reveal a semantic meaningful progression without conflicts.

After ordering the I ching like the RNA, the hexagrams became ordered sequences. The flip all lines is really the opposite situation for all 64.

The error with the known i ching orders was not the identification of the trigram split, but the mapping of rows and columns with trigram labels.

Earth Man Heaven is a really really old concept, way before the grid orders, but was the hint for the correct order. Three bigrams is how they have to be read to make sense from one hexagram to the next.

The yin/yang revealed is 32 + 32, not 1-64.

The Bigram I Ching is an offline html page that anyone can use at home even without internet. I am hosting it so free download is possible. I will never charge for it.

It's a giveaway before I leave the planet :-)

I hope this is a useful addition to all other orderings we know about the I ching hexagrams.

thanks for the patience to read this dense introduction.

I welcome discussion and additions.

Thank you to the moderator of r/divination for allowing this standalone post. We were also very happy to contribute I Ching divination books to the r/divination 14th anniversary giveaway. We appreciate this community’s long-standing support for many forms of divination study, research, and practice.

I would like to introduce I Ching Stream.

I Ching Stream is the first platform created to systematically bring classical I Ching divination texts into English. Our goal is to preserve China’s traditional divinatory methods, terminology, case records, and practical reasoning in clear, precise English for serious learners, practitioners, and researchers.

Many readers outside the Chinese-language tradition know the I Ching mainly through the Judgment and Line statements, philosophy, symbolism, or spiritual reflection. These are important parts of the tradition. However, over more than two thousand years of development in China, I Ching divination also became a practical system for judging real-world questions.

Historically, I Ching divination was not limited to private spiritual reflection. It was used by Chinese rulers, officials, scholars, and ordinary people to judge real-world matters, including war, state affairs, official appointments, marriage, illness, travel, business, family matters, and major life decisions. Classical sources also preserve famous divination accounts associated with major cultural figures, including accounts of Confucius divining about his own fate. Readers who are interested in this historical dimension may refer to Studies on Ancient I Ching Divination Cases (Zhouyi Gushi Kao, 《周易古筮考》), which records about 170 historical divination cases preserved in Chinese historical sources, together with interpretations and discussions by scholars from different dynasties.

In China, this practical I Ching divination system is commonly known as Six Lines Divination (Liu Yao, 六爻, literally “six lines”). In actual practice, it can combine several layers of interpretation: the Judgment and Line statements, image-number methods such as Plum Blossom Numerology, and the Na Jia method (纳甲), also known in practice as Wen Wang Gua (文王卦).

In the classical system represented by Zengshan Buyi, the primary analytical framework is Na Jia / Wen Wang Gua. It is especially useful for judging timing, relationships, obstacles, development, and outcomes, while the Judgment and Line statements and image-based methods can serve as supporting references.

I Ching Stream is dedicated to making this practical historical system accessible in English, especially the Na Jia and Wen Wang Gua tradition, which remains underrepresented in English-language I Ching resources.

Our main recommended title at the moment is:

I Ching Divination: Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi, 《增删卜易》)

This is not a general introductory I Ching book, but a practical reference work for serious learners, practitioners, and researchers. Zengshan Buyi is one of the most important classics in the Chinese I Ching divination tradition. It is also one of the key texts studied by Chinese learners of I Ching divination and one of the most commonly discussed and referenced works in later classical I Ching divination literature.

This is not a general I Ching commentary or a symbolic interpretation book. This English edition contains about 200,000 words, 460+ real divination cases, and detailed translator’s notes designed to help readers outside the Chinese cultural and textual tradition understand the historical context, technical terms, and interpretive logic behind the cases. Rather than offering general reflections on the hexagrams, these cases show how classical I Ching divination was used to judge real-world questions, including likely outcomes, timing, the development of events, and the final feedback from actual cases.

Our goal is not to simplify the I Ching into abstract philosophy, nor to turn it into quick fortune-telling entertainment. The purpose is to present the traditional Chinese I Ching divination system as completely and clearly as possible, including its methods, structure, case logic, and practical reasoning.Zengshan Buyi is part of a larger classical I Ching divination library we are building in English. Current available titles include:

• I Ching Divination: Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi, 《增删卜易》)

• The Orthodox Method of I Ching Divination (Bushi Zhengzong, 《卜筮正宗》), also known as Golden Strategy

• Fire Pearl Forest: I Ching (Six Lines) Divination Classical Text (Huo Zhu Lin, 《火珠林》)

• Undersea Eye: The Core Principles of I Ching (Six Lines) Divination (Haidi Yan, 《海底眼》)

• Collected Insights on I Ching Divination (Yi Donglin, 《易洞林》), including Donglin Secret Manual (Donglin Mijue, 《洞林秘诀》), Guo Shi Donglin (Guoshi Donglin, 《郭氏洞林》), and Zhouyi Donglin (Zhouyi Donglin, 《周易洞林》)

• Hidden Principles Ode: A Classic of I Ching (Six Lines) Divination (Chan Ao Ge Zhang, 《阐奥歌章》)

• Principles and Odes of I Ching Divination: Including Mysterious and Subtle Discourse and Celestial Mysteries Ode (Tong Xuan Miao Lun, 《通玄妙论》 and Tian Xuan Fu, 《天玄赋》)

• Studies on Ancient I Ching Divination Cases (Zhouyi Gushi Kao, 《周易古筮考》)

• Encompassing I Ching Divination (Yi Mao, 《易冒》)

These works are intended for readers who want to understand I Ching divination as a practical historical system, not only as a philosophical text or a set of Judgment and Line statements.

They may be especially useful for:

• I Ching readers who want to move beyond general symbolism and understand practical divination methods;

• tarot readers, astrologers, spiritual consultants, and other divination practitioners who want to explore a structured Chinese divination system;

• practitioners of Chinese metaphysics, traditional Chinese medicine, or related traditional systems who want to understand how I Ching divination was used to judge real-world matters;

• researchers and serious learners who want access to classical Chinese divination cases, technical reasoning, and historical practice in English.

For readers who are new to this system, we also recommend starting with I Ching Divination: A Practical Study Roadmap, which is available on Amazon. This short guide gives readers a broad overview of the mainstream I Ching divination system used in China, including how classical I Ching reading, Six Lines Divination, Wen Wang Gua, Na Jia, images, lines, time factors, and practical judgment fit together. It is a good starting point before moving into the larger classical translations.

For readers who prefer Kindle, several titles are also available through Amazon. Because Kindle is managed through Amazon’s platform, this Reddit reader offer can only be redeemed through ichingstream.com.

Community reader offer for Reddit readers:

Code: divinationreddit

Offer: $29.99 off selected major I Ching Stream digital editions over $200, including Zengshan Buyi and Zhouyi Gushi Kao

Valid through: June 30, 2026 PT

Personal use, one use per reader.

Useful links:

Books: https://www.ichingstream.com/books/

Author profile, sample materials, and related papers: https://columbia.academia.edu/XuanWanyan

Case studies and study notes: https://substack.com/@ichingstream

I Ching Stream community on Reddit: r/ichingstream

More classical texts are in preparation.

Questions, feedback, and discussion are very welcome, especially from readers interested in I Ching divination, historical divination practice, Chinese divination, Wen Wang Gua, Na Jia, Six Lines Divination, and the broader history of practical divinatory systems.

In 1950, Carl Jung was writing the foreword to the English translation of the I Ching.During this time, he did something remarkable: he cast a hexagram himself. Not once, but twice.

First Cast

Jung asked:If I recommend the I Ching to English-speaking readers, what will be the result?

He received Ding Hexagram (The Cauldron), with Lines 2 and 3 moving, changing into Jin Hexagram (Progress).

Line 2 of Ding:The cauldron has food in it. My enemy is ill and cannot reach me. Good fortune.The cauldron holds substance, yet resentment comes from others , but they cannot harm him. 

Line 3 of Ding:The ear of the cauldron is shifted; movement is blocked. The pheasant cream remains uneaten. Rain comes, regret fades. Ultimately good fortune.

 The hexagram transformed into Hexagram 35, Jin (Progress).

Jung’s reflection:The I Ching was, in a way, complaining that its true value and vital function were being overlooked. Though it rises like the sun and affirms individual conviction, it still faces rejection and disbelief. Yet it presses forward calmly, without worry, without forcing anyone to believe.

Second Cast

Jung asked the I Ching to comment on his act of writing the foreword.

He received Kan Hexagram (The Abyss), with Line 3 moving, changing into Jing Hexagram (The Well).

 Line 3 of Kan:Coming and going amid abysses, surrounded by danger, sinking into a pit. Do not act. It symbolizes being trapped between dangers, entering a deep, risky chasm. He was warned to pause and observe, lest he fall further.

 Jing Hexagram (The Well):Water rising through wood , a well that nourishes others.

 Jung’s reflection:He saw himself caught in a difficult situation, represented by a deep, dangerous pit one could easily fall into. Yet this pit might be an old well, only needing to be cleaned and restored to serve its purpose again.

Ultimate Insight: Synchronicity , Meaningful, Non-Causal Connection

In his foreword, Jung wrote:The answers from the I Ching matched his inner psychological state perfectly. This was no mere coincidence.

Between one’s inner state and outer events, there exists a non-causal connection , this is synchronicity.

Causality says A causes B.Synchronicity says A and B occur together because they belong to the same meaningful whole.

Jung’s Final Words on the I Ching

The I Ching offers no proofs or results. It does not boast. It is not easy to approach, nor does it grant power. Yet for those who seek self-knowledge and wisdom, it may be a profound book.

To some, its spirit shines bright as day;to others, faint as morning light; to others still, dark as night.

If you do not like it, you need not use it.If you feel repelled by it, you need not seek truth from it.

 

After years of consulting the Yi I started keeping a tally of which hexagrams came up most often. The intuition was simple: if the Yi is responsive to whatever question you bring, you’d expect a fairly even distribution across the 64 hexagrams over many readings at about 1.5% per hexagram.

What I found is that a small number come up at five or ten times that rate during a particular phase of life, and they tend to be the same ones across very different questions.

To me that’s not noise. It’s the Yi naming the underlying terrain that all my surface questions are sitting on.

The corollary I didn’t expect is what’s interesting: the hexagrams that don’t appear at all are often as informative as the ones that do. Looking back through months of my own journal, the long absences haven’t tracked with what’s irrelevant to my life, they’ve tracked with what I’ve been avoiding asking about.

Hexagrams I’d never cast would suddenly arrive once I named the situation honestly to myself or to someone close.

I’m not making a metaphysical claim about this. The simpler reading is that the hexagrams I don’t cast tend to mirror the questions I haven’t yet learned to ask and once I ask them, the relevant hexagrams arrive. Which is interesting whether you read the Yi as oracle, as Jungian mirror, or as a set of archetypes.

For a long time I tracked all this on paper. When that got out of hand I built a small tool to do it. Please ask me for it if interested, the moderators don’t take kindly to links in posts.

The “Recurring Energy” panel ranks all 64 hexagrams by your personal frequency including the absences sorted at the bottom. Primary, resulting and changing lines as separate columns, with time filters if you want to see the pattern over a particular period. Does anyone have any further ideas on ways to zero in on the metadata? Note all journal entries are locally saved, so there are no privacy issues here.

If anyone tries it I’d genuinely be curious what patterns you’d find and especially whether anyone else has noticed long-term absences tracking with avoidance more than irrelevance.