One of the major things I walked away with from the art exhibit
last month was: although most people
have heard of the I Ching, many were not exactly sure of what it was. I looked
around for a quick explanation, but found that references to the I Ching online
were either too vague or far too wordy. Thankfully, the introduction to “I
Ching for Beginners” by Brandon Toropov provides an explanation that may help:
“The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is one of the oldest books
of wisdom, one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature, and one of the most
influential books in human history. For nearly three thousand years, it has
been held in the highest regard as a work of philosophy, an artistic
achievement, and, above all, an oracle.
The I Ching is based on the belief that random occurrences –
chance occurrences – are not whimsical, accidental, or meaningless; but, on the
contrary, chance occurrences are synchronized with some higher wisdom or
universal order – if they are interpreted
correctly.
After thousands of years, people still consult the I Ching
for guidance or advice or when seeking answers to important questions.”
The I Ching is based on a system of eight trigrams: Dragon
(or Heaven), Earth, Thunder, Water, Mountain, Wind, Fire and Lake. Each of
these trigrams combines with another to create a total of sixty-four hexagrams
“expressing sixty-four aspects of life and its changes.”
The most common way to build your hexagram is to toss three
coins while asking a question – it is recommended to “make it as specific as
possible, mentioning dates, names, and places – but keep it short. Avoid questions requiring a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
answer.” Or, you can ask no question at all and the I Ching “will automatically
respond to the major issue of your life and advise on your general situation.”
(Richard Gill, “I Ching: The Little Book that Tells the Truth”)
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| I Ching coins |
I own both a set of I Ching coins and a deck of I Ching cards,
similar to the Western Tarot. Although I have not used them for divination in
many years, the cards came in handy at the beginning of the year when I was
searching for elements to develop a series around.
The I Ching project is not an attempt to visually interpret
the hexagrams and their meanings, but instead use its beautiful, simple
structural design paired with the biomorphic designs as basic
requirements. In many cases, the
design comes first and the hexagram chosen matches my mood or what I am
thinking about ~90% of the time. For example, while I was designing the Celtic
Knot for “#3 A Difficult Beginning”, I was having an incredibly difficult time
attempting a double-knot and I had thought that I had ruined the entire design.
I put the painting aside for a couple of weeks and then when I went back to it,
everything just seemed to fall into place. Suddenly the design worked. When the
time came to name the painting and add the hexagram, I opened the I Ching to #3
– and burst out laughing, the title was so appropriate.
Jenn White
White Rooster Studios
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