You will need three English coins of the same denomination, preferably silver and minted in the same year. Heads, our Queen, is warp. She is light, warm, strong, rigid, active, odd. Tails is weft: dark, cold, supple, restful, and even. Although weft is weak and warp is strong, there is strength in weakness, and weakness in strength.

The English Book of Changes is an oracle that responds to sincere meditation on any given situation, exploring both its correctness and its consequences. The wisdom of the Book is based on ancient texts handed down through generations, their origins often lost. They take into account your present circumstances, analyse possibilities for action, and frequently refer you back to your past. The ideal place to consult the Book is wherever you feel the most self-possessed and serene, such as the patio or conservatory, or even in the bathroom!

1. Take your three coins in cupped hands, shake, and let fall simultaneously on a flat surface.

2. Heads equals a value of one.

3. Tails equals a value of two.

Add the numeric values of the tossed coins - the four possible results are:

6 - Young Weft
5 - Young Warp
4 - Old Warp
3 - Old Weft

4. Repeat this operation five times to obtain the 6 mystic lines of an ancient English hexagram.

The hexagram is constructed, and should be read, from the bottom to the top. The relevant ancient text depends on the numerical value of each throw of the coins, and its position in the hexagram.

 

Position in hexagram	Old  Weft (coin value 3 )	Old Warp (coin value 4 )	Young Warp (coin value 5 )	Young Weft (coin value 6 )
Sixth	Easier said than done	What goes around, comes around	Wonders will never cease	A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Fifth	Ignorance is bliss	Mustn’t grumble	Actions speak louder than words	The darkest hour is just before dawn
Fourth	The best things in life are free	Business is business	Cream rises to the top	Better safe than sorry
Third	Half a loaf is better than none	The only way is up	Every dog has his day	It’s alright for some
Second	Absence makes the heart grow fonder	More haste, less speed	The poor are always with us	First come, first served
First	There’s one born every minute	One good turn deserves another	Make hay while the sun shines	Back to the drawing-board

 

An example: In a genuine controlled experiment, with witnesses, using The English Book of Changes, coins were thrown while meditating on the question: How should I respond to my failure as a novelist? The coin values achieved were 3, 5, 5, 6, 4, 4. This creates the following hexagram, which should be read from bottom to top:

 

 

To benefit fully from each consultation, adapt yourself to the symbolic, ancient language of The Book, which demands sincere reflection and meditation. If the sacred texts sometimes seem bizarre and impenetrable, you have simply resisted learning how to approach them.