Customer Reviews

Total I Ching: Myths for Change

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As a 30 year I Ching user, teacher of Taoist qigong and inner alchemy meditation, I was very skeptical when yet another I Ching translation arrived in the mail. But I knew Karcher's scholarship was superb and was hoping for at least a few gems. Was I surprised to discover that this is the best I Ching I've ever used - it literally lives up to its name, The Total I Ching.
I used to consult both the Wilhelm (elegant, but too confucian) and Wu Jing-Nuan's "shamanic" Chou version to get a full spectrum of readings. Karcher's Total I Ching version is both elegant, scholarly, and shamanic. It brilliantly integrates in the living elements of the shen (spirits) who are actually the agents of change, we could say the "managers" of shifts in the larger chi field that play out in our bodies and lives.
There is only one test of an I Ching, and that is to use it in real life situations and see how "alive" and accurate the responses are for you. I found this version to be far superior to the other readings I previously used. Yin & Yang trigrams can be reduced to abstract and lifeless mathemtical symbols, or they can be experienced as living pulsations, voices from inner space. Total I Ching opens up the voices of the spirits, without losing the bracing clarity of the symbolic language.
I am thrilled to find such a breakthrough work in a field of translations that are generally lacking in spiritual brilliance. Total Ching is a must have for I Ching lovers.

This is the 2nd book I have bought written by the author Stephen Karcher.This book is very indepth and offers more guidance on all matters.The advice is easy to understand but beginners might want to find suitable learning books before adding this book to your collection.The number of pages for each hexagram can vary from about 4 pages and some are up to 6 pages long.Thats a bit too much for my liking,but,some people might like it.Consider that factor before you buy this book.

The print in this book is smaller compared to the authors "Symbols of love" book.Both books are very similar but "Total I Ching" is for all matters.

I also recommend these books:
1)"I Ching:a new interpretation for modern times."By Sam Reifler.
2)"Practical guide to the I Ching".By Kim-Anh Lim.

The I Ching has been an immensely important influence on my life. For well over three decades, I have sought its advice, judgment and solace. It has remained an unchanging spiritual lifeboat for me, like the shoals of dolphins that rescue and secure the shipwrecked to safety. I credit the Wilhem/Baynes/Jung edition for saving my life and, in particular, the editions by Carol K. Anthony, Sam Reifler, Brian Brown Walker, Sarah Dening, R. L. Wing, John Blofeld and Stephen Karcher for enriching it.

This latest of Karcher's books on the I Ching, Total I Ching: Myths for Change, is a masterpiece. Karcher successfully takes the original texts and jettisons almost all the moralistic moorings that are at times difficult to get around in other translations. He takes a shamanistic and pragmatic approach, eschewing doom-and-gloom predictions for succinct, somewhat dispassionate advice. For instance, rather than hearing hopelessly negative news from the 6th changing line of Hexagram 24 (Return), Karcher says "Trap!...You are returning to an old delusion, blinded by self-deception and infatuation. If you go on in this way, your hard-won growth will be destroyed. It will take at least ten years to deal with the repurcussions of this catastrophe. The Way is closed. Think about where this desire comes from. Whatever you do, don't act this out....Take things in. Be open and provide what is needed." I find this type of advice far more useful than the the stark proclamation of horrific bad luck given in some versions of the I Ching, which could almost cause the susceptible to contemplate jumping off the Golden Gate bridge.

His commentary on the 2nd line of Hexagram 49 (Skinning/Revolution) is: "There is excellence in moving now. This is your time. Move into the dance. You can change the world. Put everything into solution. Don't be shy. Be a hero. Vigorous action opens the Way. This is definitely not a mistake. Be resolute. You are connected to a creative force." This successfully communicates the positive energetic information without quite making one giddy. I enjoy and need a slightly sober reminder that my good fortune lies in remaining connected to the creative force, from which all blessings flow. Total I Ching provides this without the puritanical tone found in some other versions.

It is easy to bypass some of the more esoteric information on each hexagram and go directly to the sections most important for divination. The tone is helpful and grounding, yet invigorating. I personally am more interested in that than the scholarly details, but those who seek them won't be disappointed. My only criticisms are that it would have been far, far more helpful to have the Hexagram numbers placed on each page. You have to go through pages and pages to get your bearings in the text, rather than being able to flip easily to the hexgram you want. Also, I really wish this book was available in hardback. For those of us that actually use and refer to the I Ching on a regular basis, this is essential as well as aesthetically preferable. The text deserves to be preserved in a hardback edition. This is a wonderful, wonderful book.

This is one of the BEST I-Ching Translations I've ever read. I had found several before, most notably the Legge Version and the Idiot's Guide. These are awesome versions for the basic Divination Student, but the depth and wealth of connections, syncronicities, and interrelationships between all the Hexagrams is best related in this text. I highly recommend this one, as well as the Karcher I-Ching with Concordance, and the simpler How to Use the I-Ching by Karcher as well.

Stephen Karcher's approach to translating and presenting the famed Chinese oracle "I Ching" appears to take on board Jung's famous invocation to "dream the myth onward". The result is a paradoxical conjoining of the ancient and the modern. For each hexagram, Karcher takes us on a penetrating exploration of its deepest roots in Chinese history and mythology, slowly unfolding each little symbol's big picture, and revealing the archetypal material the hexagram might encourage us to consider in context. The result is deeply psychological and gives the modern occidental reader unique access to the ancient oriental wisdom implicated in the oracle's poetry. If you use an oracle to divine, explore, and contemplate rather than to "tell fortunes", then I expect you'll come to marvel again and again at Karcher's wondrous work with this most intriguing old book, as I have.

If I could give this book six I would.

If you love the I-Ching; If you read every single one you can find; this book is simply eons beyond all the rest.

The other I-Chings I used to really like were the one by Alfred Huang, and the one by Rudolph Ritsema. This is like taking the best aspects of both of those two and combining them and making them even better.

Check it out!

As a newbie to the I Ching, I bought both this book and a used "how to use the I Ching" by the same author. It turns out that "Total I Ching" is an expansion of the older book. The new text adds a lot of very interesting information, but it is unfortunately marred by very bad editing.

I've read about one fourth of the book, and already I noticed several mistakes in crucial graphics and numbers. Even worse, the historical, semiotic, and operational information that comes before the actual catalog of hexagrams is jumbled and scattered all over the place. More than once, something basic is named differently in different parts of the text, and we must figure this out. As a result, it is difficult to get a clear picture of how to do the necessary combinations and permutations -which are quite interesting, I never suspected one hexagram could lead to such depth of exploration- and then use the related information which has been added to each hexagram section. Expect lots of needless back and forth and multiple bookmarks. I'm used to dense and complex texts, but this one is just messy. The aggravation is ultimately worth it though, and I guess practice will make the problem trivial.

I only wanted to reinforce what's been said. I have used the I Ching daily for 35 years and consulted (and memorized) the Wilhelm/Baynes edition and others. I can't believe what a difference it has made to use this book. I loved the Karcher/Ritsema "I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change" (1994) and it's hard to find. A very different and helpful approach encouraging a meditative attitude. But this book is, as it says, "a masterpiece."

I love this book as it can be as complicated or as simple as you wish. Simply only read the summary consulation if you are in a hurry - it does explain how to do this at the beginning. Personally, I think it is for beginners as well as advanced users - I am a beginner and have no problems with it.

Just a bit about my journey with the I Ching. I became interested in the I Ching since last December. Let me start by saying that, unless you have alot of patience to work through all the information presented in this book, this is NOT for beginners. But please, do not let this detract you from puchasing this book. I have translations from Hilary Barrett (good for beginners), Wilhelm/Baynes, Huang and finally this book from Dr. Karcher. This book is very technical and deep in the application of the oracle. This work was made with the design of presenting the I Ching in a holistic light: offering the many shades of meaning from different cultural points of relevancy, starting with the shamanistic background of a mythical world of spirits, while showing a growth of understanding of the oracle's meaning and application down to today. Presenting the information in this manner, one can distill the essence of the oracle's meaning. To me, this book is an excellent and very thorough work. I will certainly work with this book to glean more insights into this fabulous oracle.