dates back to the Shang Dynasty about 3,700 years ago. Also known as
Book of Change, its precepts and foundation are centred on the
philosophy of life and the behavior of man in society.
The central premise of I-Ching stems from the interaction of Yin and
Yang, which represents the duality and polarity of all things in life. Yin is
negative and Yang is positive and pictorially, it takes the form of a trigram
which emerged from the combination of 3 broken and unbroken lines.
The broken line represents Yin and the unbroken line Yang.
There are altogether 8 trigrams and the combinations of these 8 trigrams
with one another produces 64 hexagrams. Each hexagram is formed by
stacking one trigram on top of another, resulting in 6 lines which are
either broken or unbroken. These 6 lines also represent 3 elements -
an image, an event and a judgment. Each hexagram is again made up of
2 primary trigrams and 2 nuclear trigrams and each of these trigrams
denotes a symbol, an attribute and a characteristic which are in turn
related to the 5 elements i.e. wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
A hexagram represents a particular situation in a person's life.
The two primary trigrams consist of the top three lines and bottom three
lines and reveals the circumstances of a situation under consultation.
The two nuclear trigrams are predictive in nature and are made up of line
two, three and four (from the bottom up) and line three, four and five (from
the bottom up). The prediction is based on precise information that gives
judgment on the nuances of a predicted fortune or misfortune.
Predictions can be made from the observations of the positions of the
lines in each hexagram. It offers answers to questions about life, events
and circumstances and show us how to behave in a particular situation.
The hexagram can act as a moral guide to help us in overcoming
difficulties or problems that we are currently facing and give us insights
into the events that are taking place or will unfold over time.
