Rites of divination
The I Ching and the yarrow stalks
The older way of consulting the Book of Changes: sorting fifty yarrow stalks to build a hexagram of six lines.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is a Chinese text of sixty-four figures called hexagrams, each made of six lines either broken or unbroken, with short sayings attached. It was a divination manual in the Zhou dynasty and later became a classic of Confucian thought. A question is put, a hexagram is made by chance, and the matching text is read as a comment on the situation.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Fifty yarrow stalksPlantOne is set aside, forty-nine are worked.
- QuestionWordStated clearly, in the mind or aloud.
- Counting sequenceGestureA set method of dividing and counting.
- HexagramObjectSix lines built from the counts.
- Book of ChangesObjectThe text read for the answer.
- Quiet tableSpaceA clean cloth and a calm room.
- Plant
- Word
- Gesture
- Object
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Cleanse Clear a table and sit quietly, as a scholar would. Step 2: Speak Hold the question clearly in mind. Step 3: Cast Divide and count the stalks to build the six lines. Step 4: Read Find the hexagram in the book and read its text. Step 5: Rest Consider any changing lines and the second hexagram they point to. Step 6: Close Wrap the stalks and put them away.
The yarrow method
The older method uses fifty yarrow stalks. One is set aside and the rest are divided, counted off and gathered in a long, set sequence, repeated until six lines have been built from the leftover counts. Because it takes time and care, the method is often called a meditation as much as a draw, and today most people use three coins, which are quicker.
Readers and critics
Confucian scholars treated the text as wisdom literature, and the translation by Richard Wilhelm in the 1920s, with a foreword by Carl Jung, helped to bring it to Western readers. The composer John Cage used it to make music by chance. Sceptics say that the sayings are open enough to fit almost any question, and many users describe the book as a prompt for reflection and not as a prediction.
What it is for
- Seek a view on a decision
- Reflect on a situation
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: I Ching (The book itself.), Hexagram (The figures.), Achillea millefolium (The yarrow plant.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.