Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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This workshop is a hands-on guided divinatory and ritual practicum. Every detail of it is designed to facilitate a clear and strong connection to the Tao, the source from which you'll receive a profound revelation by the practicum's end.

Historians often date this method to some time between 500 BC and 200 BC, with 500 BC being one of the earlier mentions of the method and 200 BC when more of these details of the process were fleshed out.

Download the PDF worksheet for logging your reading result: benebellwen.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/02-yarrow-stalk-divination.pdf

Download JPG image files of reference tables and diagrams: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/reference-tables-diagrams

Learn more about I Ching, The Oracle: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle

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Timestamps:

00:05 Introduction to I Ching divination methods
00:39 Introducing the yarrow stalk method
01:56 Esoteric and symbolic reasons for 50 stalks
03:45 Why we set aside 1 and divine with 49
04:12 Why the stalks are divided into two bundles
05:33 Yarrow stalk divination as ritual and meditation
06:10 START of guided divination ritual
06:20 Formulate your question for divination
06:43 Line 1, Count 1
09:01 Symbolic meaning of the numerical assignments 5/9
09:54 Line 1, Count 2
11:01 Symbolic meaning of the numerical assignments 4/8
11:43 The Si Xiang (Four Images, Four Faces of the Tao)
12:13 Line 1, Count 3
13:26 Calculating the resulting line from the three counts
15:08 Reviewing the four resulting line outcomes
16:00 Yarrow stalk divination ritual as meditation
16:21 Continuing on to receive Line 2
16:45 Line 2, Count 1
18:15 Line 2, Count 2
19:53 Line 2, Count 3
20:50 Calculating the resulting Line 2
21:07 Reviewing the four resulting line outcomes
21:48 Continuing on to receive Line 3
22:06 Line 3, Count 1
23:31 Line 3, Count 2
25:09 Line 3, Count 3
26:08 Calculating the resulting Line 3
26:24 Line 4, Count 1
27:53 Line 4, Count 2
29:31 Line 4, Count 3
30:29 Calculating the resulting Line 4
30:49 Line 5, Count 1
32:17 Line 5, Count 2
33:55 Line 5, Count 3
34:53 Calculating the resulting Line 5
35:13 Line 6, Count 1
36:42 Line 6, Count 2
38:21 Line 6, Count 3
39:19 Calculating the resulting Line 6
39:40 Determining the trigrams and received hexagram
40:35 Changing lines and the secondary hexagram
41:16 Secondary hexagrams and the Si Xiang (Four Faces)
42:51 Note your secondary hexagram result (and Wu Xing correspondences)
43:08 Trigram to hexagram cross-reference chart
43:26 Locked hexagrams (no changing lines)
43:41 Review of locked, primary, and transformed (secondary) hexagrams
43:49 Closing the reading session
44:26 Conclusion; independent reflection of your hexagram result

The subsequent video will provide insights on how to interpret your received hexagram message.

First Video in Series: What is the I Ching (Yijing) Book of Changes? youtu.be/t4aD2yHK7bE

Audio: Apologies for some wonkiness with the audio. My narration/voiceover isn’t great in some places, but eh, as-is this already was a monumental effort to edit. =) Closed captioning is provided, if that helps. Click the “CC” icon.