I-Ching or Tarot? Can you also predict the future without Tarot cards? Tarot is often used as an oracle for predicting the future or understanding complex situations. But the I-Ching as a method for making predictions is less known. Jung got away with it completely and that was not for nothing: The working of the I-Ching is based on synchronicity.
In other words: Coincidence does not exist. The hexagrams of the I-Ching together form a universe of possibilities and your future is one of them. What is I-Ching and how does it work?
How did the I-Ching originate?
The I-Ching is one of the oldest oracles in the world and has been used in China for thousands of years to predict the future and show the way to self-development. The Chinese scholar Foe Si is said to have designed the system, also called “The Book of Changes,” about 5,000 years ago based on the mathematical laws of nature. The result is a total of 64 hexagrams, each consisting of 6 lines, some of which are broken and others unbroken.
About 3,000 years later, Emperor Wen provided commentary on each of the lines of the 64 hexagrams, so that each had its own meaning. The oracle and the accompanying texts are still being studied every day by scholars, who also try to update the meaning of the different lines and combinations thereof with the present tense in mind.
What is the philosophy behind the I-Ching?
Each of the hexagrams represents a repeating and always moving state. Just like life itself, which is constantly moving and constantly adopting other repeating patterns. The meaning of a hexagram provides information about the “now” but also about the future “state of being”. The descriptions of the meaning of the hexagrams and their individual lines are often cryptic and symbolic. It is therefore not so easy to interpret the oracle of the I-Ching.
When the I-Ching is laid, a complex range of symbolism and meaning is revealed that an experienced oracle reader tries to interpret in line with his or her intuition. The longer someone works with the I-Ching, they will be able to explain the symbolic background of the answer better and better.
What is the effectiveness of the I-Ching based on?
Following the principle of synchronicity, every situation or condition in the physical world corresponds to our own internal experience. For example, events in the “real world” can correlate with what we are going through in terms of the development process at that time. According to the doctrine of synchronicity, coincidence hardly exists and certainly, the major life events are based on so-called “meaningful coincidence”.
Events in the physical world provide clues for what is going on with you. For example, the water pipe can jump into your house if you have problems with your marriage. Or do you bump into the man or woman you will marry later three times in one day?
The I-Ching also works according to the principle of synchronicity. You go through development as an individual and life adapt to it. When you submit the I-Ching with specific questions, it provides an answer based on what will logically happen based on your specific situation and level of development at the moment.
Jung (the student of Freud) scientifically tested the I-Ching for his synchronistic and predictive gifts. It turned out that the I-Ching also gave corresponding answers with repeated questions. The I-Ching proved to be consistent in his oracle skills.
How do you make an I-Ching prediction?
You can place an I-Ching hexagram with three coins and then look up the meaning of this in an I-Ching book. However, it is easier to consult an online divination site. Both Dutch and English-language sites offer free online layouts and the corresponding explanation. In this way, you have insight into the answer to your specific question in a few minutes.
However, do not expect easy answers from the I-Ching; look into your soul and understand what the I-Ching is trying to tell you. The more often you do this, the more accurate you will become in explaining the results of the oracle.
What do you think, do you prefer I-Ching or Tarot? Do you think there is a different between I-Ching or Tarot when it comes to oracle and fortune telling?