Many users of the Yijing struggle with the text of the oracle: how can you read it in such a way that it always gives a meaningful and relevant answer to the question or situation that you address to the Book of Changes? This workshop will teach you that. We will explore the Chinese text, its origin and development, and will look at early usage and readings of this enigmatic yet fascinating oracle from early China. From there we will build a framework that will help you to understand the layout of the text, and how it conveys it messages in images. You will learn how to read the text, how to work with its images, and how to lift the veil of mystery from its words. After this workshop you know how the text can answer any question that you address to the oracle. You will be able to read the images and can practically apply them to any situation. Who’s afraid of the text? You won’t be after this workshop. Continue reading
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The I Ching as a tool for diagnosis: a real-life case (2)
The I Ching as a tool for diagnosis: a real-life case (1)
Workshop San Diego March 2020: Heaven and Humankind Are One: Learn the Magic of the Yijing to Enhance Your Life
Heaven and Humankind Are One: Using the I Ching to Enhance Your Practice and Personal Life
“If you wish to be a great doctor you should be well-versed in I Ching.”
–Sun Simiao (581-682)
Welcome to the I Ching, the 2,500 year-old tome used throughout Chinese history as a diagnostic tool to uncover the roots of and potential treatment approach to a person’s medical or personal concern. In this 4-day course, we will discuss the essentials of the I Ching and its 64 hexagrams so that you can apply the wisdom of this tome to help guide your life.
The first two days of the course will cover the practice of the I Ching as a tool for gaining objective insights in any situation by analyzing the hexagrams. The next two days will focus on the application of the hexagrams for medical diagnosis and treatment. At the end of the course, you will know how to use the hexagrams of the I Ching as objective advisors in your personal life as well as in your medical practice.
The full program for this workshop can be found here: https://theacademyofacupuncture.com/course-descriptions/powerhouse-acupuncture-workshop/
Registration: https://theacademyofacupuncture.com/event/i-ching-2020/
The 900-800BC hexagram 50 dagger-axe
In 2005 Dong Shan 董珊 from the University of Beijing came across a dagger-axe that was held in a private collection.The axe, dated around 900-800 BC, contains an inscription:
一六一一一六，曰：鼑（鼎）止（趾）眞（顚）；鼑（鼎）黃耳，奠止（趾）。五六一一五八，X。
‘一六一一一六’ and 五六一一五八 are ‘numerical hexagrams’ that both convert to hexagram 50 ䷱. The text that follows it contains the name of hexagram 50 as well as phrases that are reminiscent of the line texts of hexagram 50.
Although the provenance of the axe is unknown Dong Shan does not think it is a fake, considering the patina and other features on the axe. This find would be the earliest object that directly links the numerical hexagrams to the Zhouyi, and it also contains the earliest text sample of it.
Dong Shan’s original article about the axe, published in 2011, can be read here http://www.gwz.fudan.edu.cn/Web/Show/2207. Pictures of the axe can be found at the end of the article.
Adam Schwartz writes in detail about the axe in his article ‘Between Numbers and Images: the Many Meanings of Trigram Li 離 in the Early Yijing’, published in the Bulletin of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology, Vol. 5, p. 47-84 (http://jas.hkbu.edu.hk/site/YCY/upload/mw_data/file/mw_data_2058_5b4411571ef04.pdf)