What is a Divination System?

There's a difference between a common fortune telling device and a divination system. To elaborate, let's say you put together a bunch of random words on cards, or you made up a system of interpreting google searches, or some other system where the input was completely random, so the meaning could be entirely and totally whatever meaning the 'reader' chose to gave it. That is not the same as the I Ching (or other systems of divination, like Tarot or Runes, etc.).

In a system of divination what you have are symbols and messages that are NOT random, but also do not have a single meaning. They have multiple layers of meaning, which you must then interpret and determine how to apply it to your question.

Systems of divination are based on some kind of Cosmology (a map of the universe, and/or of space and time). So, how much you know about the context of the system (its structure and mechanics) and the meaning and principles behind the symbols or messages being used will help determine how accurately you apply it. There ARE 'multiple meanings', but meaning is not random, and thus things like how the system is presented/taught, how deeply you have studied it, and how good your sense of general awareness are will affect the usability of the system for divination.

The I Ching's usability for divination wouldn't really matter to people who are ONLY interested in it out of academic curiosity or otherwise have no intention of using it. But to everyone else, and especially to those using it within a system of spiritual practice, this issue does matter. If it didn't matter, then we could all save a lot of time by just doing fortune-telling with bottlecaps or baseball cards.