Customer Reviews

I Ching for Beginners: A Modern Interpretation of the Ancient Oracle (For Beginners (Llewellyn's))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Enough tire-kicking! It's time to get under the hood of the Book of Changes and get a peek at its thirty-five hundred year-old Wisdom Engine: a ingenious problem-solving computer built back when the Silicon Valley was just the Silicon Gully." - From the book

The I Ching (pronounced eee ching or yee jing) is a profound Chinese oracle that speaks to the complex and changing nature of life. Centered on the Tao-the Truth or master pattern of the universe-the I Ching blends the Yin (feminine principle) and the yang (male principle) to address virtually every type of situation.

Originally consulted using yarrow sticks, this ancient oracle comprises 64 hexagrams consisting of six lines. Each hexagram is like a "chapter" of the Book of Changes (another name for the I Ching). Solid lines are yang and broken lines are yin; both are considered stable. Then there are changing lines that are yang turning yin or yin about to become yang. Although diviners generated these hexagrams with yarrow sticks in the past, modern methods have incorporated coins or even special I Ching cards.

In his new book I Ching for Beginners, Mark McElroy makes this often-ponderous oracle accessible to a new generation. He admits that this book is not a translation nor is it a traditional or scholarly exposition. Nevertheless, I Ching for Beginners provides everything you need to quickly consult-and apply-the wisdom found in the Book of Changes.

Even if you're not into divination, Mark makes the case that the I Ching provides opportunity for reflection, enhances our perception, encourages awareness of impact, and moderates our responses. Often leading individuals by the hand to the "middle way", the I Ching dispenses wise advice for those seeking insight.

Mark explains the nature of trigrams and hexagrams and shows readers how to prepare for a reading and easily generate a hexagram. In fact, he's come up with an ingenious way of generating lines using a handmade deck of sixteen "consultation cards" that are quick and easy to make. Of course, you can also generate hexagrams using three coins (which is what I do). If all the lines are stable, then you just consult the corresponding chapter in the book. (There's an easy-to-read Hexagram Chart in the Appendix). If the hexagram contains changing lines, then you need to create a Primary Hexagram and a Secondary Hexagram-reflecting how a situation is currently and how it's likely to evolve. Then, consult the chapters correlating with the Primary and Secondary Hexagrams.

Each chapter offers a sage observation about the Hexagram and what it encourages and cautions against, as well as keywords, thought questions, and a commentary. Comments on both love and relationships and work and projects are also provided, in addition to comments about the changing lines (stable or Primary Hexagrams only).

I've consulted the I Ching for Beginners three different times, and each of the readings have been incredibly spot on. One night, I was at my wits end as me and my 7 year old were butting heads. I tossed the coins and (surprise!) the situation was a changing one, so it reflected changing lines. The Primary Hexagram was (get this) 38 Resolving Tensions! It spoke of antagonism, conflict, and rebellion-as well as blending fire and water to make powerful steam (as opposed to extinguishing one another.) The Secondary Hexagram comforted me-what the situation was evolving into-because it was 54 Managing Relationships. It showed me the best way to deal with my son and provided me much clarity and comfort.

I consulted Mark's book two other times and found the results to be not only profoundly accurate and insightful, but also amazingly comforting and empowering. I just did a reading a short while ago about the next few days and I what I needed to focus on, and I got exactly the answer I needed-and one that was doable!

Out of curiosity, I compared Mark's "thought for thought" interpretations inspired by the ancient oracle to The Complete I Ching: The Definitive Translation by the Taoist Master Alfred Huang. I was surprised that I Ching for Beginners reflected the gist of the Hexagrams found in this scholarly book. Sure, a book like The Complete I Ching may give some added nuance and information, but for someone wanting a modern, accessible version of the I Ching, Mark's book does the trick.

If you want to learn about the I Ching-especially if you're looking for an easy-to-use oracle with depth and breadth-I Ching for Beginners is an excellent book to get you started. Written in his characteristic witty, engaging style, Mark takes a potentially cumbersome subject and makes it understandable-and more importantly, *doable*--for a new generation of seekers.

If you're looking for a book that discusses the I Ching as a philosophy or metaphysics or meditation tool, this book isn't what you're looking for. However, if you want an I Ching that can give insight and solutions into your life, this book is nothing short of spooky. I made a quick and cheap set of index cards as he describes (if I flipped coins around here, my cats'd make sure I spent all day looking for coins) and for the first month that I owned this book I did a reading every morning.

Unlike Tarot, where sometimes you and a deck have to take some time getting to know each other (tarot people know what I mean), this worked right off the page from day one. He offers wonderful blurbs on each of the trigrams, and I was so impressed at how spot on they were at predicting what I needed to look out for that day (my general question) that I started analyzing the book for 'cheats'. You know, generic stuff that could fit anybody "you have a friend named Joe? John?" "You feel as if no one understands you?" That sort of ultrageneric stuff that the Rube desperately clings onto. Nope. Not here. The trigrams are widely different in meaning, with very little overlap.

If you want a practical I Ching tool, and something that you will turn to day after day with confidence, THIS is the book to get.

First of all, you should read the excellent review posted by Janet Boyer. I've got not much to add to this.

I consider this book (and Mark's Bright Idea Deck) as my private mentor/coach. It does not tell me what to do, but confronts me with a set of questions and options to consider. Over time I have learned the importance of asking the right question; sometimes an answer is not even needed, the question alone makes the problem disappear.

Why 4 stars and not 5? Well, we all got spoiled by Mark's use of examples on how to use for instance his bright idea deck.

Well, in this I Ching book, no "50 ways to use the I Ching", no "What would the trigrams do", no different "spreads".
I'm sure I have enough information to construct these on my own, but I would love some practical examples, some "spreads" using more than one or two hexagrams etc.

Anyway, I recommend this book to everyone!

I wanted to buy a book on I-Ching that was easy to read and understand even though I've been learning for 2 years now.This book is ideal.The author writes in simple terms that will appeal to everyone not just beginners.No technical explanations.It covers advice on relationships,work matters and more.I found this book to be unusual compared to other I-Ching books because of its simple explanations and it is written in simple English.For the price alone this book is great value.For what this book has to offer its even better value.Its a great book to start with even if you purchase another beginners book with it.

Great value book suitable for anyone interested in I-Ching.

I own many translations of the I Ching. Of all of them, I would have to say that this book represents the best interpretation of the oracle into modern English, followed closely by the translations by Mondo Sector and Sam Reifler's work as well as the exhaustive "The Laws of Change" by Jack M. Balkin. Everything from the names of the individual "gua" to the judgements and lines are re-interpreted into modern English in this book, so don't expect to win any arguments with someone who owns the Legge edition or the Wilhelm/Baynes text. Still, this book is direct, to the point and impressively accurate in capturing the spirit of the individual hexagrams if what you're trying to do is understand how the hexagrams relate to modern life. Cross referenced with "The I Ching Handbook" by Mondo Sector, you can see how each individual moving line leads to a transitional hexagram for a complete analysis of whatever hexagram you come up with and its moving lines. Buy it! Hide the title with a book jacket if you want to impress people, but buy it and you will not regret the purchase.

I put in a rating and mistakenly hit the 4 star dot. Could not re-enter as 5 star but the book is a 5 star. Not only is it easy to read it gives you ways to do the I Ching without buying expensive cards or coins. It makes the I Ching very understandable with a great historical account of the practice dating back thousands of years. If you're like me and want the fast, understandable track I highly recommend this book.

The book is new and very good. a useful tool for insight into any question or problem. Answers are there for reflection and decisions relating to any questions. But what is the question? That requires some amount of work on your brain even to define a question. Once you do the i ching can help provide a way to resolve the question, and answers though reflective are dead on accurate. Be careful what you ask, this is not a wish book or some easy road. Thinking is required. Otherwise go watch some TV commercials and rest your brain.

My life is a bit of a roller coaster these days... and this book is exactly what I need. It is a great tool to help understand the message that is addressed to me. Comforting words of a friend that provide a gentle guidance.