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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteTo cast an I Ching reading with three coins, toss them together six times, recording one line per toss from the bottom upward. Totals of 6 and 9 are changing lines; 7 and 8 are stable. Read the primary hexagram first, then the text for each changing line, and finally the relating hexagram formed by changing every 6 and 9 to its opposite. Treat the result as a prompt for reflection, not a guaranteed prediction.
What you need before casting
You need three coins, paper and a reference that identifies hexagrams and provides their judgments, images and line texts. The exact wording depends on the translation or edition you use, so keep that edition consistent throughout a reading.
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Write an open question
Write one first-person sentence about the situation or decision. Rather than demanding a yes-or-no answer, ask what the situation asks you to consider, what may help you understand it, or what to keep in mind as you decide. This gives the reading context without forcing its text into a binary verdict.
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Set a coin convention
Choose which face counts as 2 and which counts as 3, and use that convention for every toss. In the documented convention, 2 represents yin and 3 represents yang. Modern guides may assign the coin faces differently, so the important thing is to define your rule before casting rather than changing it midway.
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How to cast with three coins
- Ask and record your question. Keep it visible so you can consider the resulting text in relation to the same situation.
- Toss all three coins together. Add their values using your chosen 2/3 convention.
- Record the first line at the bottom. Mark it as solid or broken, and note whether it is changing.
- Repeat five times. Put each new line above the one before it. The sixth toss becomes the top line.
- Read the total consistently. Use the table below to identify each line’s polarity and whether it changes.
- Identify the hexagram. Match the completed six-line figure to the hexagram table or index in your chosen reference.
| Total | Line as cast | Status | Line in relating hexagram |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Broken (yin) | Changing | Solid (yang) |
| 7 | Solid (yang) | Stable | Solid (yang) |
| 8 | Broken (yin) | Stable | Broken (yin) |
| 9 | Solid (yang) | Changing | Broken (yin) |
A useful recording convention is to number lines from the bottom: line 1 is the first toss and line 6 is the last. This makes it easier to locate the corresponding line commentary in a reference.
How to read the primary hexagram and changing lines
Start with the primary figure
The primary hexagram is the six-line figure exactly as cast, before changing any lines. Read its judgment and image in your chosen translation, keeping your written question in mind. These texts provide the initial frame for considering the situation.
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Read every changing line
For each total of 6 or 9, find the commentary for that numbered line in the primary hexagram. The changing line is not an extra toss: it is a line whose yin or yang polarity is understood to transform in the next figure. Read the text for each changing line present, and relate it to the question rather than treating a sentence as an isolated instruction.
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Make and read the relating hexagram
To find the relating hexagram, flip each changing line: a 6 becomes solid and a 9 becomes broken. Leave stable 7 and 8 lines as they are. Match this second six-line figure in your reference, then read its judgment and image as another lens on the pattern. It is not a certain forecast of what will happen; the consulted casting guide presents it as another facet or tendency of the situation.
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If no lines change
If all six totals are 7 or 8, there is no relating hexagram produced by changing lines. The consulted guide recommends reading the primary hexagram’s judgment and image without one.
How to make sense of several changing lines
There is no single combining rule established here as universal across I Ching traditions. A clear, repeatable approach is to read the primary judgment and image, read each changing-line text, and then consider the relating hexagram’s judgment and image. Keep the question as your anchor: ask what each passage brings into view, where the texts seem to speak to different aspects of the situation, and what remains uncertain. Avoid turning multiple passages into a forced prediction.
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Three coins and yarrow stalks are not identical methods
Both procedures produce yin and yang lines, but their frequencies of changing-line totals differ. The Wilhelm/Baynes electronic appendix, for the English edition identified as 1950, gives the following probabilities per line in its calculation; these are the appendix’s figures, not independent measurements:
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →| Line total | Three-coin calculation | Yarrow-stalk calculation |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2/16 | 1/16 |
| 7 | 6/16 | 5/16 |
| 8 | 6/16 | 7/16 |
| 9 | 2/16 | 3/16 |
A 2026 casting guide describes yarrow stalks as the older, slower procedure and coins as a shorter method. That is a practical distinction, not evidence that one method is more authentic or that either predicts outcomes more accurately. The figures above mean that the procedures do not weight old and changing lines identically.
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What a reading can and cannot establish
The I Ching is an interpretive practice grounded in a textual tradition. A reading can give you language and structure for reflecting on a question, but the consulted sources do not establish that it is an empirically validated forecasting method. A relating hexagram should therefore be treated as an interpretive perspective, not a promise about the future.
Translation also affects what you read. The Wilhelm/Baynes electronic text identifies Richard Wilhelm as translator from Chinese into German and Cary F. Baynes as the English renderer, with an English edition dated 1950. A casting guide reproduces James Legge’s 1882 wording for hexagram 1: “Qian (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm.” That is one translation’s wording, not a universal definition. When discussing a passage, name the translation or edition so readers know which text you mean.
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