I Ching Score Card

After a thousand consultations, over five and a bit years, here is the state of play with my gradings of oracles from the I Ching. The Book of Changes has a reputation for uncannily accurate advice, displays of acute synchronicity. I have been in the habit of assessing the relevance, or otherwise, of the text in response to specific real-life consultations. The results of my assessment are as follows:

CATEGORY ONE

Explicit, astounding relevance. 49 cases in 1000.

These are cases where the text is astoundingly explicit and relevant. My paradigm case was when I was young. At the time I was accepting car transport from a young woman but not interested in her advances. Consulted, the I Ching said: “You should not travel in the carriage with the maiden under false pretenses.” The I Ching can do this. Astoundingly apposite, direct, explicit. No symbolism. When this happens I count this as a category one oracle.

CATEGORY TWO

Extreme relevance, but less explicit. 106 cases in 1000.

In a category two oracle the text is remarkably relevant, but without as much explicit character of category one. In the paradigm case the oracle might be instead: “You shouldn’t use people to assist with your journey.” Direct relevance, but without reference to the maiden and the carriage.

 
CATEGORY THREE

Relevant advice. Less specific than category two. More general. 251 cases in 1000. Here there is only the moral lesson. “It is not wise to disappoint someone for your own convenience.”

CATEGORY FOUR

Generally relevant. 361 cases in 1000. The largest category. These are texts of general but not startling relevance. With some effort they can be made to fit the inquiry. “The inferior man accepts gifts that turn to rust.”

 
CATEGORY FIVE

Not very relevant. 145 cases in 1000. It is hard to see the relevance of the oracle in these cases. Possibly some obscure symbolism I can’t see. “The road east is also the way of the eagle.”

CATEGORY SIX

Irrelevant. Not relevant at all. Off the mark. 88 cases in 1000. Confounding. ‘Your favorite uncle will sell many pigs.’

 

There is assuredly a subjective judgment involved when allotting them to a category, and there are many borderline cases, but these results give a good picture of my experience with the I Ching, as an oracle. Make of it what you will.

 

Note: I used several different methods of creating a hexagram at various times over the period, but only methods with the same probabilities as the yarrow stalk method. Never coins.

I did use of 7-fold scale and a 10-fold scale for short periods before settling on the six categories. I adapted this small batch to the 6-fold scale to include them in the figures.