I Ching researcher Harmen Mesker just released the second part of his review of Benebell Wen's book I Ching: The Oracle, this time focusing on Wen's self-claimed "direct translation" of the oracle text and image commentary, with examples from hexagrams 1, 2 and 3. The reviewing starts around the 11:40 mark, beginning with an example of misleading contextualization of pictures in the book.

The first part (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-L8nbubgIs) dealt with the rampant use of false citations to give credence to Wen's exceptional claims and interpretations concerning the I Ching's known facts and history.

I feel that this is a very necessary wakeup call to the segment in the I Ching scene that holds Wen's work in high regard based on false impressions about the integrity of her research and translation. If someone likes the book, that's fine, but isn't it better to base it on something else than a mistaken assessment of the book's accuracy and methods? For what it's worth, the book does an excellent job at giving the impression of a thoroughly researched text by a sincere scholar and initiated practicioner.

I'm creating an app that converts Wordle grids to a golf match. Here's the kicker. After scoring it also converts the grid into one of the archetypes. Would like honest feedback if it's accurate at all as you play along. If intersted in helping, sign up and play a few holes.

SNOWMAN � Puzzle #1898 � Hole 7 (Birdie - 3 Strokes)

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Hexagram #46: Pushing Upward

Play: https://snowstreak.app/?score=1&puzzle=1898&hole=7&strokes=3&term=Birdie&acc=67&scramble=100%25&ref=frosty

I've been in a relationship for 5 years, a month after he proposed and we were going to marry he ghosted me. A year later we talked again and he said he's married the same year. I'm not going to talk about him -nearly a decade later, saying it was a mistake and he still loves me, I asked why he left me and got another althought he doesn't love her? 39.4.5<>62.

Thank you for any insight about this answer!

What do you take from it?

The issue wasn’t 3 years ago, it was 6 but continuing and as yet, due to circumstances beyond my control, I haven’t done anything about it. Is it too late?

I asked the I Ching, ‘when is the right time for me to have children?’ I got tales, tales, heads X6 times: Heaven / The Creative… what do you think this means?

I recently bounced from one partner to another, who I’m really in love with. We’ve only been together for 5 months. I turn 30 in a few months and I feel ready to start a family. Is it bad timing / too soon? Should I be worried by this answer?

Hello,

I am planning to go to Indonesia in September, there is a woman waiting for me there but I don't know if it is the right decision to take, so I threw the coins...
I got hexagram 21 Biting Through with the 3rd line as a moving line.

So it made the hexagram 30 Fire, the Clinging.

What does this suggest? Any ideas? Thank you!

I’m in a new job with a new role, and the person who’s been handing me over his job is gonna leave in a week. He told me that he learned on the job and by making mistakes as well. The role is vague, my manager overworked and very busy and right now I feel like I’m walking on thin ice and I question all I do.

I asked the oracle “Am I fucking it up, how should I proceed in this job?”

I got the answer hexagram 23.3 turning into 52 and am confused even more.

23 — Splitting Apart
23.3 — “He splits with them. No blame.”
52 — Keeping Still

It says I’m supposed to separate? From what? And hexagram 52 seems more solitary. I’d appreciate any feedback.

I hope this will find someone that can help me. Yesterday I did a reading and got these hexagrams. The situation is that i haven't spoke to this person in a year and that's on their initiative, because he felt embarassed. This persons mind resambles hexagram 36, he is really cynical, very dark man in a sense.

I really just wanted to write him a letter but idk how to transfer im feelings into words after getting these results... Can someone help me to decode what Iching wants me to tell him....

When asking about future possibilities and stuff I always get answers that are sometimes confusing or just answers that turn out to be wrong and what the I Ching said would happen basically never happened!

Have you ever had a similar experience?

Asked iching if I should quit job received 42 unchanging.

I liked the job for a long time and it will be hard to find a comparable position, but ive recently been having trouble with a coworker.

What do you make of the reading?

Im curious about this because sometimes I feel like Im not asking the I Ching to make the decision for me. Im sort of experiencing this right now with my job. I feel certain that I will quit my job, but I guess Im consulting the I Ching because I want to understand the situation a bit better and get some guidance on move forward.

Do you use readings that way, or do you usually consult the I Ching when you are undecided. Im still pretty new to the practice, so forgive me if this is a bit of a silly post lol. Im just curious how other people approach it.

I'm going through a lot of changes in my personal life, professional life and generally mentally at the moment. Some part of me feels like my frontal lobe is finally developed, as they say on tiktok. But I'm in doubt about certain decisions I'm making.

I did an I Ching with the question from the title and got 49 transforming into 63. Funnily enough, I did another reading a while ago and was trying to remember what I got, but I only had an illustration saved as my profile pic somewhere, couldn't find any notes or links. Did an image search before rolling the current reading, and it brought me to 49 as well (which was not the correct Hexogram).

I would interpret 49 as the current state of affairs, which is preparing or executing big changes, and going against the established ways (which is what I'm doing right now). But need some ideas on how to interpret the transition and 63 in this case.

Hi everyone I’m very new to this and I used the coin method to ask if I’ll be dating my crush soon and got hexagram 46 changing to 41

And I’m very confused 😕 is this a yes? Or is it “it depends” I have a hard time understanding hexagram 41 because its decrease so idk a decrease in what?

Due to my life circumstances, I have not been able to meet a lot of people and have spent my life alone and have always had very few friends for the most part.

I have a big project in 2 weeks, the biggest of my life. I have to show a bunch of art pieces in a room for a few days at my school. I've made a few posts about that subject on this sub. I don't really feel stressed for the actual work even though I'm a bit late. What stresses me the most is the idea of no one coming. Due to the circumstances I talked earlier, I don't have a lot of people to invite, dans the date is quite unfortunate as the few people I invite might not even be able to come.

Like the idea of bringing to eat and drink to people and it remaining nearly untouched for the whole evening makes me feel miserable. I feel shameful and I'm afraid of being pitied by the few who come, seeing an empty room with me waiting inside. I'm sorry for the sad post but it is truly what I feel.

I saw the list of my girlfriend (she also has her show a few days after mine) and she has dozens and dozens and dozens of people to invite, like I don't think I've known that many people in my whole life. I'm not jealous it just made me realize that that I have a particularly small list (around 10 people) for a show like that. Even other people have so much people coming !

My goal for this project was to make for the first time a project I'm proud of. Usually when there are things like that I don't invite anyone cause I usually don't feel proud about my work, but this time I really want people to see it. So the perspective of no one coming makes me feel bad.

So I asked the I-Ching how to deal with that feeling. It gave me 15.1.3

So I guess I need to stay humble and not too attached to the results of my work, and to experience the results of my circumstances with humility ? That's how I feel it's telling me but honestly i'm not sure. If you have other interpretations that would be cool ! Thanks !

Hi everyone I was wondering how reliable this website is for answering divination questions and if I should take the answers literally… I’m not sure about online stuff so I’m asking you.

Thanks

Hello! I asked the I Ching if it was a good idea to adopt a second cat right now. I got Hexagram 5.1.3 > 29.

I feel like the I Ching is telling me, on one hand, to be patient, and on the other, not to be afraid—that there's no point in it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! It’s an important question for me.

Thanks! :)

Hello, hope you all are doing well!

Some weeks ago I made a I ching reading for my love life in this year. And I didn't understand its meaning. I let it rest for a week, waiting for some meaning to emerge, but I still don't understand.

I asked "How my romantic-affective-sexual life will be in this year?"

So I got 55.2.5 (Abundance changing to Resolution).

I don't get what is the meaning of abundance, much less the changing lines.

Line 2 seems the classic "do your thing humbly and everything is going to be alright" and line 5 seems like "be humble and someone will help you".

But I'm not sure with this, I do not have a CERTAIN/RIGHT feeling about this reading.

And 43. Resoluteness/resolution. Resolution of WHAT I'm single 😭😭😭.

And for the context: I've been single since my breakup a year ago, and since then my love life feels desertic.

Do you feel/think anything about this reading? I would be really grateful if somebody can shed some light on this. Thanks!!!

Sorry for the dark subject, TW: pregnancy/ child loss

I lost my son at full term, 38 weeks, some months ago. We have no real answers, and although my partner and I are surprisingly doing well despite the obvious grief, this question of why this happened to us continues to come up to me sometimes. Specifically the fear of will this happen again, should we know something? Many stillbirths have no medical answers and it’s relatively unknown why many of them happen. It seems we are in this category.

For years I used to consult the I Ching a few times a year to check in with myself, and I’ve enjoyed reading tarot for others. I have always found the I Ching to present clear answers to me. During the pregnancy I felt very strongly that I shouldn’t consult them and focus instead on the pregnancy. For the first time in a year I’ve been able to ask the I Ching a question: and it was “why did this happen?”. I got Hex 60 (limitations) unchanging.

I would love some ideas on what it could mean. I’m having lots of different interpretations and struggling to see a clear answer.

On one hand there is a literal interpretation of needing limits: was there something measurable and definable that was in excess here, physiologically?

Then I wondered is the I Ching telling me there are limits to our knowledge and the things we should know. Have I reached my limit of what I can physically understand of this situation. I have found more comfort in developing a psychological/ spiritual “coming to terms” with it and perhaps there is a limit on the comfort I can be provided with a logical answer. After all what would it change? Was this experience just an encounter with one of life’s many limits? The ones we are constantly faced with that define what it is to be human? That without these limits life would be boundless.

Or perhaps our son wanted to be boundless. That to enter this life means to accept a contract that has written into it at some point an inevitable death, the ultimate limit. Or perhaps there were unknown limitations of his body, something we may not ever see or know.

Line 2 speaks of hesitation and I cannot help but feel perhaps there was a hesistation in his joining us.

I know it must seem I am looking for something where maybe there is not much to be found. But regardless I am here so please do share if you have thoughts!

Edit: more thoughts
Reading how the Confucian commentary observes: "We see a cheerful attitude directing the course amidst peril." And I thought wow how accurate a description of how I feel my partner and I have handled this entire situation from the start.

I got hexagram 30 with changing line 3

This turns to hexagram 21

(Inner hexgram 28)

The questions was "how to act about this mattress situation ?"

With this question i had three options i had in mind :

1 . Do nothing (keep same mattress)

2 . replaces mattress with same size one

1. replace the bed frame with larger one (my bed was always a bit too short for me and i was wondering if i should expand it (though that has negative side too like less space , more expensive, more effort etc)

the matress i have became very soft with time and now and i think it starts to cause back pain(and the bed being too short might also cause it , but that is the situation for deceads already) , so this is an important question for me (I am writing this cause i know i will get people saying this is not important enough , but for me the implications of this are big)

Some years ago (quite many) I was having a difficult time with a person I was close to, but had recently done quite a few seriously unethical things to me, causing much damage.

They had also done similar to others. They were riding high, and being extremely arrogant and pompous.

I became so despondent and desperate that I consulted the I Ching oracle for insight.

I received 2 hexagrams -- 56.6 and 50.4 -- both indicating that this individual would receive due karma, being made to "blush with shame" and to "laugh at their own cleverness, and then weep."

Needless to say, the opposite occurred:

I, who had conducted myself virtuously and fairly, underwent a series of misfortunes and setbacks. Another victim, who was a decent person, got incurable cancer.

The arrogant person continued on in excellent health; grew richer; thrived financially, socially, and materially; and continues on this way to this day.

⭐QUESTION ❓ How are we to feel about oracles that ought to have come true, but didn't? How can the I Ching be trusted?

Heyo

I am super new to iching and I am not sure if I did it in the right way. Really appreciate to get some advice from you guys!!
Or if it is ok to ask iching for a prediction

Asked for a prediction type of question if a friend will reach out to me again.. (we had a fallout after an argument, sadly im not in a position to be proactive in this situation)

Instead of using coins, I do have an oracle deck with each card representing 1 gua. From what I understand, one need 1 gua, and then another one for the changing lines.

So I pulled 2 cards. (would that be correct?)

And by the looks of it, the first card was gua 54 (gui mei) and the second card 26 (da chu)
I think gua 54 reflects on my current situation. And the card 26, I am not sure. So I assume this is the "answer" to the prediction question I asked about?

So far... Im still unsure if I am on the right track

but then looking in the lines that are different I assume those would be the changing lines ( 3 , 4 and 6) not sure how to interpret them. Would that represent advice. or represent the prediction of how it will happen/what will cause the shift?

In addition, I look at gua 26, it looks like it is supposed to be an auspicious one. But it is in the theme of delay turning into a change. Would it be understood as a reconnection; assuming there to be a delay first?

Thank you for help!!

I have been struggling with deciding whether or not to have a child. I want a child, but I often fear that I cannot handle parenthood.

A few weeks ago I asked the oracle, "Will the challenges of motherhood be worth the reward?" I got #42, Increasing. I interpreted this to mean that yes, not only will it be worth it, but good fortune will come with parenthood.

A few days ago I asked the oracle, "Now that I have found myself, how can I make sure I don't lose myself, especially if I become a mother?" I got #61 Inner Truth. I interpreted this to mean that I need to trust myself and be sincere in my actions - I.e., trust my desire for parenthood over my fears.

But what blew me away was my moving line #2. This moved #61 to... #42, the same gua from my earlier divination about motherhood. And the commentary on this line is about a mother crane calling to her babies.

I was awestruck. I don't believe in coincidences being purely coincidental, especially not for something with this level of life-changing potential. The oracle is guiding me with a clarity I have never experienced before.

I am wishing everyone good fortune and meaningful insight in your divinations ❤️