Method
How to cast the I Ching with three coins
Casting is not handing your life to metal. It is a held pause: you write the real question, then let chance interrupt the loop so a next step can appear.
Write the question before you touch the coins
A useful question names your position. It does not outsource the living. Prefer “What do I need to see?” over “Will this succeed / will they return?”
- Ask one matter at a time. Two issues tangled together make fog.
- Write as the person you are today, not the braver version you wish you were.
- Stay open. Yes/no is allowed; “What is the honest knot?” is often kinder.
- For medical, legal, or investment decisions, go to a qualified professional. A hexagram is not that help.
Three coins, six throws
The coin method uses three identical coins. Assign one face yang, the other yin. Each throw becomes a line. Six lines, drawn from the bottom up, make a hexagram.
- Sit still and read the question once. No incense required. Drop the shoulders.
- Throw all three coins. Three yang is old yang; three yin is old yin; two yin and one yang is young yang; two yang and one yin is young yin.
- Record lines from the bottom. Old yang and old yin are moving lines—the situation is already shifting.
- When you have the primary hexagram (and a relating hexagram, if lines move), notice the body first: tight, loose, warm. Then read.
- Take one next step. Treat the text as a conversation, not a verdict.
In Hexagram Pro you can complete this in the browser: write, cast from where you are, and read toward a next step. The app does not claim to live your life for you.
Questions
Do I need antique Chinese coins?
No. Three identical coins are enough. What matters is accepting this throw—not rewriting the rules until you like them.
May I cast again immediately?
You may, but ask whether you are hunting agreement. Repeating the same question often means anxiety has taken the seat.