Interpretation By Christiaan Freeling _________________________________________________ Showing its subject beneath a couch, and employing diviners and excorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error. 57. Sun, nine in the second place. _________________________________________________ Asking a question If you want to enter a question first, click New under File and open 'Your question'. Here you can enter the question as well as comments on the outcome, for future reference. You can also copy & paste significant parts of the outcome from the text. Click the cursor on the text-window's lower edge to scroll it down to a bigger size. After entering the question, concentrate on it and click Throw under Oracle. A window will appear, showing three coins. Click Throw. After completion of the hexagrams, click OK and Connect under Oracle. A Connexion will appear, indicating the positions of the actual & future hexagram and the mediator. Alternatively you may click Throw & connect under Oracle, and proceed automatically through the process. It may allow you to concentrate better on the question. In this case you can use the 'Your question' window only after the divination. Two factors determine the outcome of a divination: the quality of the question and the quality of the interpretation. The quality of the question depends on sincerity and clarity, and you may be the only judge of both. Scheming minds may, despite the fact that it's hard to hide when you're inside, find ways to keep their motives even from themselves! As for clarity, the I isn't particulary structured to answer questions that require a straight yes or no, so interpretation of such a question might prove difficult for a beginner. In other words, 'How should I handle this problem?' is better than 'Should I handle this problem in such and such a way?'. If your question is about a particular person, make clear which point of view you want. If you want to know how to act with regard to him or her, you yourself will be the subject appearing in the answer. If you want to know what this person thinks about you, or feels for you, make him or her the subject, and the I will take this point of view. As for the second factor, learning to interpret the outcome of a divination depends on study and practice. There's no shortcut. Beginners not only face the difficulties of interpreting the symbolism, but at the same time those of interpreting the Connexion. Users who are already familiar with the I will have less trouble in this respect. Familiarity with the Ta Chuan and the Shuo Kua certainly helps to provide a better context, as does reading the text of the hexagrams without asking specific questions. _________________________________________________