Beginning Yijing Divination Workshop
By donation - THU 5/29 10am-12pm
Hello all, this is info on how to sign up and attend May’s supplementary workshop which will be based on basic hygiene and technique for divination using the yijing - aka the i ching aka the book of zhou aka the book of changes aka the book of sun & moon.
These supplemental workshops are how I’m trying to keep a roof over my head as a chronically ill person in America. Any help and support is appreciated and necessary.
The workshop is by-donation, no one turned away for lack of funds and RSVP signups are via this google form.
The recording will live on my patreon.
The Details
Get 3 coins of the same type.
Recommended is 3 brass feng shui coins like thus:
Get from etsy, amazon, local shops. Don’t overspend. If you can get real brass that’s best but let’s not be weird about it.
If you can’t start with these, literally get 3 pennies of the same size, weight etc. as you can always upgrade once you become more serious, relational, decolonized. Be practical!!!
Take a look at the picture above, top left column and the next column to its right. Top left column shows the yang side of the coin: it has 4 symbols in the 4 cardinal directions. Next column over shows the yin side of the coin, some coins have alternate markings and symbols. It depends on the style if the coin.
If you are using different coins: just use the heads as yang and the tails as yin.
In the workshop i will go through best practices as to how to prepare and use the coins etc.
Get a book
Top left: Observing by Liu Ming. My main and preferred book. Available in hardback only from da yuan circle.
Top center and top right: two of my newer finds that are great. Top center is a slim book with lots of history. Top right is the author’s translations and alternative translations of the hexagrams. Stuart Alve Olson. Get directly from his website or ebay etc.
Bottom left: a great translation that is sparse and poetic. Useful if you already have an understanding of the text or just want a slim travel version or just enjoy accurate poetics. David Hinton.
Bottom center: a massive 500+ page monster that came out recently. Not useful as a working book in my opinion due to its size. Lots of great essays, research etc. Written by an Asian woman (which is partly why it is included). Also available as an audiobook. Author’s website is also full of great stuff. Benebell Wen
Bottom right: a unique book that comes from a shamanic anthropological stance. Has images of the original oracle bone script pictograms. Useful as a partner to any of the other books. Wu Jing-Nuan
There are lots of good books. These are just the ones I own and use.
My take on why and how to choose a book and other tools
You should have one main book that truly works as a medium between you and the ancestors.
You should have one or more other books that you use as research and supplementary texts, especially during difficult interpretations and readings.
You should have a dedicated space and tools. Simple thing is to have a silk cloth, the coins and book all together easily transportable and containable. A kit if you will.
You will need paper and writing utensils, a dedicated divination notebook, water and incense for use with praying and consecrating.
You will also need some way to give offerings. You can always start and improve your approach as you go, but you have to want to have a real relationship. If you think this is all make believe or self-improvement you shouldn’t engage lol. If you already know that you won’t take the advice given in divination you shouldn’t do divination.
Prepare to engage with this regularly and long term.
Further instruction to be given in the workshop.
Workshop Content
We will go through:
Pre-divination prep. The Right Story, the Right State. View, Methods. Mindset, nervous system, relationality.
How to prepare questions. How to decide who you are asking the question to.
How to throw a hexagram. You will need coins & a book to follow along. I will go slowly step-by-step so that everyone who attends knows how to throw a hexagram, record a hexagram, and read the hexagram correctly using the basic procedures.
Q&A discussion.
please comment or contact me with any questions, but i feel like it’s all laid out here pretty well.