I CHING

Navigate the eternal flow of life armed with 3,000-year-old wisdom. Decipher serendipitous connections and the grand rhythms of nature, channeling the spirit of ancient Yarrow stalk and coin-tossing traditions.

What Is I Ching?

The I Ching (Book of Changes) is a Chinese system of wisdom and divination dating back to around 1000 BCE, which maps 64 states of change in life through hexagrams formed by six lines of Yin and Yang energy. The hexagram produced in response to a question asked symbolizes the nature of the current situation and its likely direction of development.

In the traditional method, a hexagram's six lines are determined by tossing three coins six times in a row, or by dividing fifty yarrow stalks; lines carrying an extreme of Yin or Yang are treated as 'changing lines' and turn the hexagram into a second one. On Faltastik, the hexagram is generated through a virtual coin toss, and its full meaning, including any changing lines, is interpreted for you.

Wisdom of the East

64 Life Scenarios

Perform a deep, cosmic analysis of your current circumstances using the 64 hexagrams—an ancient mathematical blueprint of the universe.

Yin and Yang Balance

Learn how to harmonize the primordial forces of dark and light, and beautifully integrate active and receptive energies into your daily existence.

Ancient Philosophy

Designed not merely to predict the future, but to empower you to adapt with sovereign wisdom throughout your daily life.

📖 I Ching Terminology Glossary

Frequently Asked Questions

What is I Ching?

The I Ching (Book of Changes) is an unparalleled ancient Chinese classical text. It serves as a dynamic system of wisdom and divination built firmly upon the philosophical principles of Yin and Yang, viewing everything as being in a state of eternal flux.

How is a hexagram formed?

A hexagram is a profound symbol composed of 6 archetypal lines. Solid lines represent the active, masculine energy of Yang, while divided lines symbolize the receptive, feminine energy of Yin. Together, they form 64 unique hexagram combinations.

What does a changing line mean?

As you cast a hexagram, lines possessing extreme Yin or Yang energy inevitably transform into their conceptual opposite. These changing lines carry deeply specific oracle messages detailing the precise direction your situation is meant to evolve.

How Does the I Ching Work?

The I Ching, the Book of Changes, has run on the same logic for close to three thousand years: you ask, you generate randomness, and you read the figure that comes out against the text attached to it. The figure is six horizontal lines and is called a hexagram. Each line is either unbroken (yang) or split in the middle (yin). Lines are built from the bottom up, so the first throw gives the lowest line. Those six lines are really two blocks of three, and each block is a trigram. There are eight trigrams: heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, lake. Eight lower against eight upper gives 64 hexagrams.

The answer is never one sentence. Every hexagram carries a name, a short judgement text (the Tuan) and an image text drawn from nature (the Xiang). Hexagram 63 is called After Completion and 64 Before Completion, so the book deliberately ends unfinished. Interpretation starts from how the two trigrams sit together: water below and fire above are two tendencies moving apart, which is why 64 is not yet complete. On Faltastik the throw is digital, and the texts follow this same structure.

What Does a Changing Line Mean?

Every line carries a number: 6, 7, 8 or 9. Seven is young yang and eight is young yin, and both stay put. Six and nine are called old, and an old line turns into its opposite: six (old yin) becomes yang, nine (old yang) becomes yin. If a reading contains changing lines you end up with two hexagrams rather than one. The first describes the situation as it stands, the second shows what it is turning into. With no changing lines there is a single hexagram and the picture is static.

Changing lines have their own texts, and only those are read, again from bottom to top. The classical naming gives place and type together: the lowest yang line is 'nine at the beginning', the top yin line is 'six above'. The more lines move, the less weight the first hexagram holds; with four or more moving, most readers lean on the second figure. When all six change, hexagrams 1 and 2 have a special extra line for that case, while elsewhere you simply read the resulting figure.

The Three-Coin Method

Take three coins of the same size, shake them together and throw. Each throw produces one line. The common assignment gives one face the value 3 (yang) and the other 2 (yin); which face is which does not matter, as long as it stays fixed across all six throws. The three coins add up to one of four totals: 6, 7, 8 or 9. Six and nine are changing lines, seven and eight are stable. Repeat six times and draw the hexagram upward from the bottom line.

Coins are fast, but their odds are not the odds of the yarrow stalks. With three coins, 6 and 9 each come up one time in eight and 7 and 8 three times in eight, so old yin and old yang are equally likely. The classical method with 50 stalks gives 1/16, 5/16, 7/16 and 3/16 instead: old yang appears three times as often as old yin. The stalk method needs three separate divisions per line, eighteen operations for a full hexagram, and takes the better part of half an hour.