Customer Reviews

How to Use the I Ching: A guide to Working with the Oracle of Change

5 star:		(6)
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3 star:		(2)
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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.

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

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.

Stephen Karcher (creator of the Eranos Foudation I-Ching Project), presents an excellent Guide embodying the spirit and philosophy of the Eranos, which is to present the I-Ching as a psychological tool through it's divinatory use which Karcher shows is the original and authentic purpose of the text. Clear and helpful introductory material followed by a new translation and interpretation complete this very welcome book.

this is book contains some life changing information. have a look at it, you wont regret it.

Karcher has managed to produce an acceptable introduction which stays clear of Wilhelm & Neo-Confucian dribble. Richard John Lynn's translation is more scholarly, but when you're in a quandry or rush Karcher's will do for the moment.
A word of warning, however. When describing the coin toss, Karcher mistakes the head for the tail on the old cash. The inscribed side of the coin should be counted as a yin (2) and the blank reverse of a Chinese coin as yang (3). Ooops.

The title should be How to use the I Ching if you have experience with the I Ching. It is a nice book if you use it as a supplement to other books. There are much better books than this one if you want an easy to use guide to the I Ching.

This is truly a feat of man and nature. We have found a way to query and hear from the same underlying forces of nature that influence our lives. Thus, giving us invaluable insight to the significant issues in our lives.