A beginner’s guide
How to Use the I Ching with Three Coins
You need three coins, a few quiet minutes, and one question. The I Ching, also called the Yijing or Book of Changes, is a Chinese classic used for divination and reflection. Here is how the three-coin method works in YaoCast.
Start with a question you can explore
Try “What should I consider as I begin this project?” rather than asking for an exact outcome or deadline. A useful question gives you something to notice or act on. You can type it into the tool, or keep it to yourself. An empty question field does not affect the coin results.
If you are stuck, try one of these: “What am I overlooking in this situation?” “How can I approach this conversation?” “What would help me learn from this change?”
Toss three coins, six times
In the traditional coin convention used here, the reverse counts as 3 and the obverse (the main inscription side) as 2. Toss all three coins together and add their values. Write down the first total as the bottom line. Repeat until you have six totals, building upward.
| Coin total | Line | Does it change? |
|---|---|---|
| 6 · three obverse faces | Yin · broken | Yes, to yang |
| 7 · one reverse face, two obverse faces | Yang · solid | No |
| 8 · two reverse faces, one obverse face | Yin · broken | No |
| 9 · three reverse faces | Yang · solid | Yes, to yin |
You may encounter other coin-face conventions in books or websites. Follow one convention consistently for the whole cast. The virtual coins here use the stated reverse = 3, obverse = 2 convention.
Meet your hexagram
A hexagram is a figure made of six solid or broken lines. Six binary positions allow 64 patterns. Each pattern has a name and a place in the King Wen sequence. The bottom three lines form the lower trigram; the top three form the upper trigram.
Your original six lines make the primary hexagram. Flip every changing line: a 6 becomes solid and a 9 becomes broken. This gives the relating hexagram. With no changing lines, the pattern stays the same.
Read in layers
Start with the primary hexagram’s image. What seems relevant to your question? Then notice which lines change and compare the relating hexagram. On YaoCast, the prompts are original modern reflections. They are not translations of the classical Judgment or individual line statements.
If you want to study the classical text, use a named translation and its own interpretation guidance. Different traditions give changing lines different emphasis. Our calculator displays the full change pattern without claiming one universal rule for choosing a single line.
Leave a note and come back
Write down one thing you noticed and one small step you want to try. Later, record what actually happened, including what surprised you or did not fit. You can revisit your thinking without turning an ambiguous reading into proof of a prediction.
Your journal is stored in this browser. Export a backup before changing devices or clearing browser data.
Classical text reference: The Book of Changes, Chinese Text Project. The three-coin method is documented in later divination manuals, including Bu Shi Zheng Zong (Chinese primary text). See our method and sources for implementation choices and limitations.
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