Most people have at least heard of the I Ching, the ancient Chinese oracle also known as the Book of Changes. My first exposure to the I Ching was quite a naïve one. It happened while watching a television episode of the murder-mystery series, Columbo, in the late 1970s. Lt. Columbo had come to a think tank where the murder suspect held some position. Once in the man's office, the lieutenant noticed a container of sticks on the table and inquired. The man explained to him that these were I Ching sticks used for problem solving. For years this has been on my mind and only recently have I been examining the significance of using chance to understand the course of things in my life.

Having survived the millennia since the spawning of Taoism and Confucianism, the I Ching has been used as a source of wisdom, in the art of divination and in Feng Shui practices even to the present day. In essence, the I Ching is a system of divining order out of chaos whereby auspicious paths may be interpreted out of seemingly random events. It should not be thought of as a soothsaying device which can accurately predict the specifics of some future event. However, it may be useful in understanding one's place in the present. And, by looking at the dynamics involved, it may indicate how changing one's path may effect desired results.

I have found that there is one aspect of the I Ching system that often goes unexplored. This road, definitely 'the one less traveled by', is the Yarrow Stalk Method of casting hexagrams. I believe that people really interested in the I Ching may want to rediscover this ritual as it can provide more meaningful results in the interpretation of hexagrams. Beyond this, it may be a useful meditation exercise for anyone -- even if the Book of Changes is not immediately consulted.

In this day and age, it seems a tendency for Americans (and much of the Westernized world) to rush through life. We are focused on goals rather than processes, future achievements rather than present living. As many people have turned to divination practices for guidance, they are too often in a hurry for answers. The practice of creating hexagrams, reading and studying the I Ching is not such a quick solution. And, while it's not difficult, the Yarrow Stalk method of creating a hexagram is an involved and meditative process that requires patience.

Since the focus of this article isn't really intended as an introduction to the I Ching, I will only make a brief mention of the history, the concept of Yin-Yang and the Tao. This will serve as a preface illustrating how the dynamic and interrelated nature of everything is represented by this system. While I will discuss constructing hexagrams, I will omit many details. Therefore, if your interest is piqued and you wish to learn more about the I Ching, reference material will be mentioned later.

The Tao -- I prefer to translate it 'the way of ultimate reality' -- is a dynamo of elements that are all interconnected. This concept of ultimate reality, oneness, is the basis for many philosophies and religious systems such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Zen Buddhism. Scientific corollaries also exist with twentieth century understandings of Quantum Electrodynamics, Chaos Theory and other non-linear systems. Cause and effect are not readily apparent or even predictable; yet, modern theories hold that a butterfly flapping its wings in America has some affect on the weather in Japan.

Except for rare mystical experiences and moments of enlightenment, we don't experience this oneness directly. With our level of consciousness, we can only understand reality in a dualistic way; everything is defined in terms of something else. The ancient Chinese symbol for this is the T'ai Chi, known in modern times as the Yin-Yang symbol, the 'undivided' circle with two polar fish-shaped forms. Yin is black with a small seed of white Yang. Likewise, Yang is white with a seed of black Yin. One does not exist without the other which is why it is more correct to think of this as Yin-Yang, not Yin and Yang. In the Book of Changes, Yin is represented by a broken line. Yang is represented by a solid line.

The origin of the I Ching is attributed to Fu Hsi. As legend has it, about 5000 years ago he was the first to interpret the eight trigrams (three lines of Yin or Yang) from random markings on the back of a tortoise that emerged from the Yellow River. This is often referred to as the Yellow River Map. It was then King Wen who developed the system of 64 hexagrams (six lines of Yin or Yang) by adding together pairs of trigrams. Between him and his son, the Duke of Chou, they developed a 'judgment' to give advice and an 'image' which comments on the judgement and interprets the individual (moving) lines. To this was added further commentaries by Confucius and others after him.

In the earliest periods of Chinese history, consultants of the I Ching used tortoise shells that had been heated by fire and interpreted the resulting cracks in accordance with the Book of Changes. But, there are numerous ways of building a hexagram one line at a time. You simply need a random method of generated a Yin or Yang line. In fact, I once met a woman who generated each line of the hexagram by playing a single hand of standard solitaire with 52 playing cards. If she won, she would mark a Yin line. If she lost, a Yang. But, among many possible methods, the two that are most prevalent are: tossing three coins or methodically dividing 49 Yarrow stalks (actually, there are 50 stalks, but we'll come back to that later.)

The traditional I Ching coin has a hole in the middle and a Chinese inscription on one side which represents Yin. The opposing side represents Yang. Since East has met West, these coins have been adopted as amulets and symbols by various Western spiritual modalities. They are also used as such within Feng Shui systems. You can find modern fashionable versions in craft shops and elsewhere. Amulets and talismans were used by early Chinese shamans and practitioners of Taoist magic; but, as far as the I Ching is concerned and for the purposes of this article, these coins should be considered merely as implements no more endowed with magical power than a nickel.

The hexagram can be constructed as quickly as one can throw three coins six times and jot down the results -- only a minute or two. A Yin is assigned a value of two, Yang is three. While these values are arbitrary, the importance is in their consistent and systematic use. (What is more meaningful is relative, not absolute.) Adding the three values gives a total of six, seven, eight or nine. A six represents Old Yin about to change to Yang. A nine represents Old Yang about to change to Yin. In the I Ching, these lines are known as moving lines which have individual meanings and may be used to construct a 'future' hexagram. Values of seven and eight represent Young Yin and Young Yang, respectively. The Book of Changes is then consulted given these resulting hexagrams.

Unlike the coin method, you cannot rush the Yarrow Stalks. Constructing a hexagram with stalks is naturally a time consuming process taking at least 20 minutes to methodically divide the stalks with care and do the math. Additionally, one becomes more involved with the process and that's precisely what I think is beneficial to explore. The oracle isn't a separate entity from which you seek guidance. The oracle is the system of you and your environment, inseparable.

Traditionally the stalks are made from the yarrow (milfoil) plant. Bamboo is a common substitute. ( I use trimmed bamboo cooking skewers. ) 50 stalks are used. One stalk is symbolically set aside in the beginning and not used further. The remaining 49 are divided into two piles at random. One stalk is removed from the right pile and placed in the hand. Then stalks are removed from each pile until four or less stalks remain in each. These are added to the one from the right pile and are together set aside. The remaining stalks are combined and divided again two additional times. I have omitted some details and math here, but the result is three piles of stalks whose values when taken together yield one of four possibilities: Old Yin, Young Yin, Young Yang, or Old Yang. The resulting line is noted. All 49 stalks are recombined and this process is repeated five more times to complete a hexagram.

When I am consulting the oracle, I am evaluating synchronous events that are occurring in my life. So, I like to remind myself that there is a connection between me, the stalks, my thoughts and my situation. While meditating on my question to the oracle, I have added the symbolic ritual of passing the stalks over burning incense before each division. This ritual helps me focus. When ready, I remove the stalks and perform the division and counting of the stalks. You can see that during this process, I have meditated on a question 18 times, passed stalks through the smoke of burning incense 18 times, divided the stalks intuitively 18 times, and reduced piles by counting 36 times. In this intimacy, I realize the stalks as an extension of myself. In fact, the counting is busy work. Once the piles are actually divided, the outcome of the value is decided. This means that my intuition plays a very important role in choosing how to divide the stalks. My thoughts and intuition become part of the hexagram constructing process more so than can be possible with the coin toss method.

I am just beginning this exploration. As with the I Ching, so it is with life in general. Recognizing reality as a process has helped to continually increase tolerance and respect for all people, places and things. And, the fact that everything is according to the way of ultimate reality, the Tao, means that every little thing that happens to us along our paths can be looked at with wonder. We can find value - quality - in anything if we want to do so.

[References: C.F. Baynes / R. Wilhelm (Translator), I Ching or Book of Changes, Princeton University Press; or, James Legge (Translator), I Ching: Book of Changes, Dover Publications. The Wilhelm version includes an interesting forward by C.G. Jung. For more historical background, see also Cyrille Javary, Understanding the I Ching, Shambhala Publications.]