How to Use the I Ching: A guide to Working with the Oracle of Change [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Stephen Karcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 1998

This book gives you a clear and comprehensive introduction on how to use the 3,000-year-old oracle book and includes simple instructions on making consultations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Element Books Ltd.; illustrated edition edition (January 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862041342
• ISBN-13: 978-1862041349
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > I Ching

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Starting Place, July 12, 2001

By 

"bobby_mac8" - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Use the I Ching: A guide to Working with the Oracle of Change (Paperback)

I disagree with Bothell, WA. This is an excellent starting point for the I Ching.

The introduction alone is the best you will probably find among the translations and commentaries out there.

One of the keys to a good translation is that it is VERSATILE. A good I Ching allows for multiple interpretations given your question and circumstances. I find that many Western commentaries are too narrow and almost always focus on the spiritual or relationships too much. This version can answer those same questions, of course, but it can be used for any other inquiry you will have. It is what I wish had been my starting point.

You will at some point need to get a true translation like Alfred Huang's, but if you are getting started, you need to start here. I would also recommend R. L. Wing's Workbook as an excellent starting point, too.

My only complaint is that the cover is horrible. The I Ching is an important and enlightened book. It is meant to be revered. The cover on this one is a publisher's choice I am sure. A simple cover with the Yin/Yang symbol and simply "The I Ching" is all that is required. "How To Use" smacks of that Complete Idiot's Guide mentality. I hope the publishers change this.

Other than that, I stand by my statements. This is a very good version.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, January 31, 2007

By 

Jacqueline Springer (Kingsbury, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Use the I Ching: A guide to Working with the Oracle of Change (Paperback)

This book is clear, concise, simple yet profound. I recommend this book to anyone , regardless of skill level

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two different titles and covers but the SAME text, March 14, 2007

By 

yvonne (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Use the I Ching: A guide to Working with the Oracle of Change (Paperback)

First, you should be aware that this book and THE I CHING PLAIN AND SIMPLE by Stephen Karcher are exactly the same book and so, if you have one, you may not want a second.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE has a very different cover - orange with the I Ching lines.

Second, as soon as I opened it in the store, the language with which it described the hexagrams was obviously so much more accessible than that of other books I have looked at by the same author. If you are new to I Ching as I am, this makes a big difference.