The following is just a general outline of a process, one of many, that one "MIGHT" use to find answers. The most common and easiest is the use of three coins. Some choose the Chinese coins but I would use three nickels. The number five has significance so using a set of nickels, five cents, is appropriate.
The following pictorial provides you with minimal information when throwing the coins and obtaining the lines or Yao for the primary hexagram, which is composed of a upper trigram and a lower trigram. When tossing the coins the result is to start with the first or no. 1 Yao and then you do five more throws while adding the successive lines on top of the first or no. 1 Yao.
While you toss the coins both the diviner and the participant must mediate continually on the issue the participant seeks advice/wisdom on so appropriate actions can be taken. There will be unchanging lines and changing lines, etc. so look closely at the pictorial/chart provided.
Coins: Thrown six times and document the values as follows:
Heads = Yang = 3
Tails = Yin = 2
Total the throws and put them into a chart that is similar to the pictorial/graphic shown to get the lines, etc.
Note: It should be understood that the distance you travel with the I Ching is determined by the person seeking its wisdom. The diviner can go as far as deemed necessary and in some instances my suggest a stopping point to the seeker, etc. The first step is reading the primary hexagram.
When you view the completed six lines of the coin throw you can then find the hexagram in the I Ching by dividing it into two trigram, i.e. the upper and lower. Upper is line 4, 5. & 6 while the lower is line 1, 2, and 3. Using these separate trigrams and the key chart to the hexagrams you find the books entry for that image.
How far you go would/could look like this:
Primary hexagram commentary, trigram interpretations, individual line interpretation, the heaven, mankind, earth line pair interpretation [1 & 3, 2 &4, 5&6] and/or [1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6], etc. Sometimes the divination depending on its complexity of the question will determine how fare is necessary, etc. The point here is that there are no hard and fast rules one must adhere to in reaching a conclusion as to actions the seeker must consider.
You have the full hexagram. You have identified the moving/changing lines. You have determined the location of the image within the book of changes, i.e. #2 K'UN, etc. Now it is time to go there and read the commentary.
As you read please understand that the I Ching largely reflects a synchronistic view and therefore implies that there is no one single answer to any question sought by the seeker for the particular type of problem. Two persons asking the same question can lead to two different answers. The words can be identical but the internal, to the seeker, and external environments are not.
Approach each question, each situation or instance of the question/situation according to its own reality which means the inner reality of the seeker and the reality of their environment, etc.
Quote, "The I Ching tends to lead questioners to examine problems from a perspective that is unfamiliar, yet that is at least as valid as our usual one. This new perspective may help us find a new insight into our problems. Even when we fail to find (or understand) an answer that fits what we can assimilate, we may be heaped to find a new way to see our problems and the reality behind them. The I Ching is a book of wisdom; we are exposed to that wisdom whoever we try to use it."
The book of changes does not actually provide a concrete answer to problems but provides answers that will provide "insight" into the seekers real problem. The problem they ask of my be something that is palatable to them when in reality there would be a true but underlying/subconscious problem instead. The book may seem to miss the mark but upon contemplation the seeker may find that the truth lies underneath and this would assist in seeing it for what it is.
The I Ching provides information that will allow the seeker to take full responsibility for the problem be it the question or something just underneath that question, what is real. In the end it will teach us to take responsibility for one's self and provide guidance in seeing that self and finding the true answers from Tao.
Note: The most productive divination is one that seeks wisdom for a problem that is occurring in the present moment. It then provides for a search for understanding and responsibility. One who seeks a direct answer, i.e. will I die, may be disappointed for the I Ching is not a fortune teller.
If you are seeking to expand your responsibility in regard to your question then you will find adequate response to assume it. One must acknowledge the past, learn from it, and by doing so create a sight that sees the present moment(s) with a clarity because of past experiences. Sometimes the I Ching merely displays the past as if looking into a mirror of the self/soul. It turns on the light and exposes the inner self so the self can work in the outer environment.
If additional divination is sought then we go past the commentary of the primary hexagram/image. There are several ways this is approached. One is the King Wen where the commentary comes first and then each individual line has commentaries. Another way is the creation of a secondary hexagram where the presence of changing/moving lines is played. Another way is to create another hexagram by the use of nuclear trigrams.
If there are changing lines then the second hexagram is created by changing those lines. Remember that when you tossed the coins you also marked them as either moving or not using an "X." Simply create the new hexagram by changing those lines and look it up much the same in the table using the upper and lower formed nuclear trigrams.
The second way to create a secondary hexagram is to take lines 2, 3. &4 to form a new lower trigram while using the 3rd, 4th, and 5th lines to form a new upper nuclear trigram. These two new trigrams will form the secondary hexagram.
One step further would be the division of the hexagrams into categories that relate to Heaven, Mankind, and Earth. There are two ways the lines are paired that provide different views. The two lines that are paired depending on their location will give answers or guidance in regard to either Heaven, Mankind, or Earth as explained by the book. This warrants further research beyond what can possibly be provided in a blog posting.
With this fundamental primer to the I Ching you can seek out its advice and it is recommended you find a source with proficiency in using the book of changes.
Don't feel it a daunting task to find a copy of the I Ching for your own studies. As you can see in this posting the tradition is to allow for today's interpretations and environment so no matter which copy you obtain all of them, much like all the bottles quote, are good as they all server purpose.
Choose one or several that fit you personal feelings, the ones that talk to you and continue your studies. Develop your "ling" which is a Chinese word for the ability to use the I Ching.
Bibliography:
Pease, Marshall. The Aquarian I Ching. Brotherhood of Life, inc. Albuquerque, NM. 1993.
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