Cast a hexagram
One question. Six tosses. Lines are built from the bottom up.
Three coins, six tosses.
Two heads and one tail is young yang. Two tails and one head is young yin. Three heads is a changing yang line, three tails a changing yin line. Changing lines flip to give the transformed hexagram.
How to ask a question
One thing. A hexagram answers one question. Narrow it until it can be answered with a direction, a yes or a no, or a timing. "Should I move to Berlin?" works. "What should I do with my life?" does not.
Six tosses. Hold the question in mind, then toss three coins six times. The first toss is the bottom line. The sixth is the top.
Read in order. The primary hexagram describes the situation as it stands. The changing lines mark where it moves. The transformed hexagram shows where the movement leads.
Frequently asked
How do I cast an I Ching hexagram online?
Hold one question in mind, then toss three coins six times. Each toss produces a line. Lines are built from the bottom up — the first toss is the bottom line, the sixth is the top. Two heads and one tail gives a young yang line, two tails and one head a young yin line. Three heads is a changing yang line, three tails a changing yin line.
What is a changing line?
A changing line (moving line) is a line that flips into its opposite once the reading is complete. Young lines stay as they are; changing lines transform. The hexagram you cast is the primary hexagram, and the hexagram that results after the changes is the transformed hexagram.
Do I need real coins?
No. The traditional method uses three Chinese coins, but any three coins work — or you can tap the cast button and let the site generate the tosses with a cryptographic random source. The mathematics are identical.
Can I ask more than one question?
One hexagram per question. Casting repeatedly on the same question until you get an answer you like defeats the purpose — the classical texts are explicit about this. Ask once, sit with the answer, and come back to it later.