Image Text
Image Text is the text describing the nature image derived from each hexagram's two trigrams. Advises how the superior person (junzi) should behave in this situation.
Related Terms
Judgment Text
The text containing the main interpretation of each hexagram. These short paragraphs attributed to King Wen summarize the situation's general meaning and advice.
Line Text
The texts containing individual interpretations of each of the six lines in a hexagram. Only the changing lines' texts are read, providing specific guidance.
Art of Questioning
The practice of asking the right question to the I Ching. Open-ended questions like 'What do I need to be aware of?' are preferred over 'What should I do?'
Fu Xi
The mythological Chinese emperor who according to legend discovered the trigrams. Believed to have created the eight basic trigrams by observing patterns in nature.
Yarrow Stalk Method
The traditional I Ching consultation method using 50 yarrow stalks. A slower and more meditative process with different changing line probabilities.
King Wen
Founder of the Zhou Dynasty (~1100 BC). Believed to have arranged the 64 hexagrams and written the judgment text for each.