The I Ching

The Ultimate Calculation

Only 64 situations, or events, can happen to you, or be experienced by you, in this life. This is the basic notion or conclusion of The I Ching or 'Book of Changes'. 'Book of Changes' because you can never be sure of what will hit you next, or what changes lie ahead. This is a complicated system of 64 hexagram symbols, each with the capacity to change into any of the other hexagrams. You can select a hexagram to show you 'what's up', and what this might change to. The ancient Chinese, who invented this system, based it on another idea they had about the way energy flows through everything, Man, Nature, and the universe. This energy, or the two aspects of it that cause change, came to be known as 'Yin' and 'Yang'.

The fun started when every permutation, state, action, and reaction, was calculated (producing 4029 combinations of hexagrams) based on the presence of Yin/Yang energy. After a thousand years or so messing around with bones, shells, and bamboo strips, they wrote it all down in 'The Classic of Change'. This in turn led to even more speculation, insight, symbolism, mysticism, and 'spirituality', which was added to The Book in ten wings or 'additions'. Today, of course, we have the profound mystery, that funny, half black half white, round symbol, and that great saying 'Going with the flow' , which everyone misunderstands to their great misfortune. You could find out what 'went wrong' by going to www.taoiching.com but you're probably happy enough not to bother. Either way, Chance and Change rule !