How to Cast an I Ching Reading: The Three-Coin Method
Casting a hexagram is the first step in consulting the I Ching. The simplest and most popular technique is the three-coin method, and the whole process is easier than it looks.
Why three coins
The older yarrow-stalk method is elaborate; the three-coin method is the simplified, widely used alternative. You only need three identical coins, with heads and tails standing for yang and yin.
Throwing one line
Shake the three coins and toss them. By convention, count heads as 3 and tails as 2 (some reverse this — just stay consistent). The sum of the three coins is always one of four values:
- 6 (three tails, old yin) — a yin line, and a changing line
- 7 (young yang) — a yang line, unchanging
- 8 (young yin) — a yin line, unchanging
- 9 (three heads, old yang) — a yang line, and a changing line
From bottom line to top
Throw six times and record from the bottom up: the first throw is the bottom (first) line, the last throw is the top line. Stacked from bottom to top, the six lines form your primary hexagram. Six yang lines give The Creative; six yin lines give The Receptive.
What changing lines mean
A 6 or 9 is "old" yin or yang and flips to its opposite — a changing line. Flipping all changing lines yields a second hexagram, the "resulting" hexagram. The primary shows the present; the resulting shows where it is heading — see How to interpret your reading.
Prefer not to throw by hand?
You can browse the complete list of all 64 hexagrams to look up any figure and its full meaning.
FAQ
Is the three-coin method accurate?
Casting is a traditional way of using randomness to prompt reflection and self-examination, not a tool for predicting fate. Treat it thoughtfully.
Should heads be 3 or 2?
Both conventions exist; what matters is staying consistent throughout. This guide uses heads = 3, tails = 2.
Do I always throw six times?
Yes. A hexagram has six lines, so you throw six times, building from the bottom up.