More on the I Ching, Macrocosm and Microcosm

This is a follow up to the previous entry, where I touched on the difference between Macrocosmic and Microcosmic perspectives of the I Ching.

Some people wanted more clarification on this subject, which is not often touched upon in writings.

The type of divination you do when you cast the I Ching with the yarrow stalks, staves, or coins, etc. is a 'microcosmic' divination.  It is a casting influenced by two factors, on account of this: the first factor is the objective reading of Time in this present point in space. The second factor is the role of your place in that measurement, with regards to the specific question you are asking.


So this is why you could ask different questions, on different subjects, within the same time frame; it is also why you should not keep trying to ask the same question about the same subject; although in some specific situations, you might want to ask a follow-up question or something that results from the first casting.  In the case of getting Hexagram #8 as a result, the I Ching is explicitly ordering you to do so!  Conversely, if you get Hexagram #4, it suggests that your 'follow-up' questions are really being motivated by a desire to get a different answer than the one you got, and you absolutely should stop consulting on this subject.

This is the difference between ordinary casting and the Plum Blossom Numerology system; the latter is 'macrocosmic', it doesn't do a reading of your personal place regarding a situation, but of an objective measurement of time.  Your own place is not included in the casting, only the governing measurement of the point in time you are making a calculation for.

So when you use the Plum Blossom method you are getting a reading relating to the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of a particular moment in time, which applies to all matters connected to that particular moment.

Understanding this difference can help you understand what situations are better suited to a 'regular' I Ching Casting, and which are better suited to the numerological system of the Plum Blossom method.