"Sincerity Leads to Excellence. Good Fortune." Hexagram 17, Line 9 

     Consulting the Yi is a dialogue. Your answer doesn't tell you what will be. It points to certain universal human conditions; then shows you what's working well right now, what isn't, and where to look for upcoming potential in terms of defined cycles of change. It warns of dangers, and shows how you are relating to change today. 
     Your engagement is required to make the most of a reading. There are 4,096 possible answers contained in the matrix of the Yi. They are very short, poetic stories and images. What resonates for you in an answer might be the image of a still mountain, the shock of thunder, or the receptivity of earth. Or you may see yourself, or someone you're asking about, in the story. You and the reader together find the meaning-the resonance in your life. 

     Here is a condensed example of the results of a reading. 
     The question was "What will the result be if I focus on the book I'm writing?" The answer was Hexagram 33, called "Retreat" or Retiring". "Retreat in order to advance later." After considering the full answer, the questioner agreed she could use a little distance from the process; that new perspective would result in a better book in the end. 
     She learned how she is relating to book writing in a general way. Some key words from that part of the answer were "progress, develop, improve, grow, and emergence". It's image is of sunrise over the earth. She is growing as a writer, experiencing a bright, creative time.  
     The Yi suggested that she will need to be the master of the book and process to get it out in the world, published; and suggested strategies for getting that accomplished.  
     She was advised of hidden meanings with a dangerous and thrilling flavor. Book writing could lead her into territory she never dreamed of. She is connected to a creative field. By nourishing her muse rather than forcing it right now, she can look forward to an eventual successful end to the process-a published book.    

     As you have seen, answers come as points in the Yi's matrix called "hexagrams". These are simply stacks of broken or unbroken lines (yin and yang) arranged as a structure. The lines are a binary system, like the zeroes and ones of computing. Over time, the different arrangements of the lines came to have complex meanings, and replaced other ancient Chinese forms of divination.  

     To learn more about the Yijing's structure, read Richard Wilhelm's forward to the book. There is a link on the "Favorite Links" page.

The Book of Changes "...operates as a book of wisdom in large part because it is structured as a book of divination. And it works as a book of divination because it is premised on a wise and humane philosophy of life." -Jack Balkin