What to Know Before You do an I Ching Casting

The I Ching can be used to for divination about literally any subject. It is said that it covers all possibilities within the "world of 10000 things" (the manifested reality in which we exist).   So it's not just for thinking about very profound or advanced 'spiritual' questions. It's also not just for thinking about very mundane and ordinary subjects (romance, relationships, family, money, business, etc).  It can be equally effective for any of these things!

And yet, some I Ching castings end up working 'better' for the caster than others.  Why is that?
First, of course, is the level of training and understanding one has in working with and interpreting the I Ching.  The more you study it, and the more you consider its form, its text, its whole system, the better you'll get at using it. That part is pretty obvious (even though for some reason, many people never bother to go beyond the most basic level of understanding with it, even if they use it a lot; I've met some people who have used the I Ching fairly regularly for years and never even actually read the whole text!).

But whatever your level of training and understanding with the I Ching, there is also the fact that sometimes you will do castings that will seem to 'work' really well, providing you clear understanding of the question you are asking, and at other times, it will seem like the answer you get doesn't 'work' for you at all (in the sense that you aren't able to get a clear answer, or that what you get in the casting doesn't seem to be right).

Here are things you need to keep in mind when you are considering doing an I Ching casting about a question:

1. What is the level of Necessity for the casting? Is this something that you do not have a clear idea about without casting for it? Is there a strong emotional sense of intensity to seek out the answer?

2. Do you have the sense that there is something you may be missing, that you hope the I Ching could clarify?

3. How likely are you to interpret the casting objectively?

4. How open will you be to proceeding with the advice the I Ching may present to you?


None of these are points that should necessarily be taken as reasons not to do a casting. But they should give you an idea of whether you're really at the right spot to do the casting or not, and sometimes they may lead you to change your attitude about the casting you are about to perform, before you engage in it. 

The more intense the necessity is for a casting, the more likely that it will be fruitful.

The more clear you are about what it is you are needing from the casting, the more accurate the casting is likely to be.

The more you prepare yourself to be objective in your analysis of the casting, the more likely that you will not mislead yourself in your interpretation.

And the more serious you are about following through with the advice given by the I Ching, the more likely that the casting will provide concrete, direct and meaningful advice.

Why Do People Naturally Cultivate Virtue?

(The following is an excerpt from a letter to a Yi Fa Society student)

The answer to the question "why do humans decide to cultivate Virtue naturally" is because Virtue is a part of nature, it's part of the fundamental structure of reality.

However, another thing I think you need to somewhat distance yourself from is the idea that Virtue is tied into our ideas of "good".
There's a lot of things a given culture (including ours) will think of as "good" which is not a part of Virtue in the sense of "De", of nature.

And it can be better to understand Virtue, if you are able, as a natural substance, which as such is actually "neutral" in comparison to our ideas of morality.
This is an inherent understanding of Eastern philosophy, and especially in both the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching.

Because it is natural, people do try inherently to cultivate Virtue; but because people are so often distanced from what is Real and what is Natural, it is often very difficult for them to go far.
In particular, a lot of people will only take partial measures to generate Virtue; some will try to work on Virtue only in their minds and ways of thinking, others will try to do so only in terms of acts, and most will fail to engage in the cultivation of their Consciousness (not even realizing that this is essential to understand and develop Virtue; they think they already "know" what Virtue is, so it's not necessary to actually expand their consciousness as a prerequisite to becoming Virtuous!).

On the other hand, some spiritual practitioners will think that meditation and spiritual exercises alone, without the actual application of Virtue in their lives, is enough. Like that thinking happy thoughts, or trying to calm the mind, is itself Virtue.
That's not the case either.

There's much further elaboration on these issues in the Yi Fa Curriculum at Level 2 and especially Level 3.

On the Importance of the Standing Posture at the end of Qi Gong Practice

In the final standing posture there is nothing to do.
No distractions, no bells and whistles.
No tricks, no way to play make-believe.
Just stillness and breathing.
You are confronted with yourself.

How to Understand "Relaxation" in Yi Fa Qi Gong

This is a very useful video to understand some of what I mean with regards to 'relaxing' into Qi Gong practice. Although it's obviously being presented from the point of view of martial arts, it's coming from a tradition that makes some use of Qi Extension, and thus it relates to some of what we talk about in the Yi Fa Qi Gong practice.

 

Note that I'm not saying you need to do these stretches in particular (you could if you want to, but they're geared toward martial arts practice), I'm saying pay attention to what he's talking about just what 'relaxation' means.

 

People tend to tense up their muscles, while in Qi Gong the point is to keep the musculature relaxed while still holding an internal firmness. So I've found it's very important to remind people to relax while they practice; holding tension in the musculature makes it very ineffective for Qi circulation. But at the same time, this doesn't mean to be all floppy; the POSTURE is firm, the musculature is relaxed (and the breathing is relaxed as well).
There is a parallel in this when it comes to one's consciousness during the practice; you do not want to be mentally tense while you practice. You DO want to be in the Active Consciousness, but this means being very present in a very relaxed way!

 

Also note what he's talking about "mind" and "putting the mind into the body". When he says "mind" he's talking about what in Yi Fa Qi Gong we call "active consciousness". When you are really present in the active consciousness, your body is not tense, your mind is not tense, but you are fully connected in the body and so without any great effort other than that attention you are able to be in good control of your posture and movements.

 

Why the Yi Fa, and not a Western System?

Someone recently asked me why am I focusing on the Yi Fa Curriculum; as I clearly know a lot about western magick, why didn't I make a better modern form of a western magical system instead?

There are a couple of reasons why.

In the first place, the magick/occult community is full of people who have ideas, assumptions and fantasies about what magick is and what it's for.

Second, it has been tread over many times, and with many people making false assumptions.

By creating a magical system (the Yi Fa Curriculum) that does not look like what people's assumptions tell them 'magick' looks like, it means only people who are capable of having the right priorities and thinking beyond their own projections will be drawn to it.

Nevertheless, the work of the Yi Fa Curriculum will be highly complementary to the studies and practices of anyone seriously pursuing western esoteric systems.

If you are interested in joining the Yi Fa Society, please feel free to contact me.

New I Ching Video: Hexagram #8 - Union

Here is the latest commentary video in the I Ching series. This one covers Hexagram #8 - Union.

Members of the Yi Fa Society get access to additional I Ching video and text commentaries that go into more depth on the symbolism and divination uses of the I Ching's Hexagrams. If you are interested in joining the Yi Fa Society, please get in touch.

The Importance of Sincerity in I Ching Practice

Sincerity is essential to effective practice. 

The I Ching is interesting in how it has various ways to make it harder for you to lie to yourself, but it is not fool-proof in that regard, since someone who really wants to get a result that just tells him what he wants to hear will find ways to 'cheat' to do it.

In the Magician's I Ching Facebook Group,  there had been a discussion on the question about whether a casting could ever be wrong.
It was argued that it could not.

I would definitely agree: an I Ching casting, if performed correctly, will not be wrong.
Technical error or imperfect methods can make it less accurate.

But that aside, the problem is in two things: the question before the casting, and the interpretation after the casting.

If you are asking the wrong question, or asking a question in an imperfect way, the I Ching's result could be wrong (de facto, rather than de jure; it will be the right answer to the wrong question in the first place).

If you ask the right question but lack either the ability or the will to interpret it correctly, then we will be unable to make use of the (correct) answer.