易经 · Yì Jīng · the Book of Changes

Free I Ching Reading

Ask one clear question, toss three coins six times and watch your hexagram take shape line by line. You get the hexagram, its changing lines, where the situation is heading and a reading written for your question.

易经 · El Libro de los Cambios

Consulta el I Ching

Concéntrate en tu pregunta. Lanzarás tres monedas seis veces para construir el hexagrama desde la línea inferior.

How an I Ching reading works

Each toss of three coins gives one line. The inscribed side of a coin counts 2 and the plain side counts 3, so a toss adds up to 6, 7, 8 or 9. Six tosses stack six lines from the bottom up into one of the 64 hexagrams.

6Old yinbroken, changing
7Young yangsolid, steady
8Young yinbroken, steady
9Old yangsolid, changing

Lines of 6 and 9 are called changing lines. Their own texts add detail to the answer, and each one flips to its opposite to form a second hexagram, the relating hexagram, which shows where things are heading. Every hexagram is also two trigrams, a lower one for the inner situation and an upper one for what surrounds it.

The eight trigrams

Heaven乾 Qián
Lake兑 Duì
Fuego离 Lí
Thunder震 Zhèn
Wind巽 Xùn
Agua坎 Kǎn
Mountain艮 Gèn
Tierra坤 Kūn

The 64 hexagrams

Each hexagram has its own page with the judgment, the image, all six lines and what it suggests for love, work and decisions.

1 · 乾 QiánThe Creative2 · 坤 KūnThe Receptive3 · 屯 ZhūnDifficulty at the Beginning4 · 蒙 MéngYouthful Folly5 · 需 XūWaiting6 · 讼 SòngConflict7 · 师 ShīThe Army8 · 比 BǐHolding Together9 · 小畜 Xiǎo ChùSmall Taming10 · 履 LǚTreading11 · 泰 TàiPeace12 · 否 PǐStandstill13 · 同人 Tóng RénFellowship14 · 大有 Dà YǒuGreat Possession15 · 谦 QiānModesty16 · 豫 YùEnthusiasm17 · 随 SuíFollowing18 · 蛊 GǔRepairing the Spoiled19 · 临 LínApproach20 · 观 GuānContemplation21 · 噬嗑 Shì HéBiting Through22 · 贲 BìGrace23 · 剥 BōSplitting Apart24 · 复 FùReturn25 · 无妄 Wú WàngInnocence26 · 大畜 Dà ChùGreat Taming27 · 颐 YíNourishment28 · 大过 Dà GuòGreat Excess29 · 坎 KǎnThe Abyss30 · 离 LíThe Clinging Fire31 · 咸 XiánInfluence32 · 恒 HéngDuration33 · 遁 DùnRetreat34 · 大壮 Dà ZhuàngGreat Power35 · 晋 JìnProgress36 · 明夷 Míng YíDarkening of the Light37 · 家人 Jiā RénThe Family38 · 睽 KuíOpposition39 · 蹇 JiǎnObstruction40 · 解 XièDeliverance41 · 损 SǔnDecrease42 · 益 YìIncrease43 · 夬 GuàiBreakthrough44 · 姤 GòuComing to Meet45 · 萃 CuìGathering Together46 · 升 ShēngPushing Upward47 · 困 KùnExhaustion48 · 井 JǐngThe Well49 · 革 GéRevolution50 · 鼎 DǐngThe Cauldron51 · 震 ZhènThunder52 · 艮 GènKeeping Still53 · 渐 JiànGradual Progress54 · 归妹 Guī MèiThe Marrying Maiden55 · 丰 FēngAbundance56 · 旅 LǚThe Wanderer57 · 巽 XùnThe Gentle Wind58 · 兑 DuìThe Joyous Lake59 · 涣 HuànDispersion60 · 节 JiéLimitation61 · 中孚 Zhōng FúInner Truth62 · 小过 Xiǎo GuòSmall Excess63 · 既济 Jì JìAfter Completion64 · 未济 Wèi JìBefore Completion

Questions about the I Ching

Qué es the I Ching?

The I Ching (Yi Jing, 易经), or Book of Changes, is one of the oldest Chinese classics. It is built on 64 hexagrams, figures of six solid or broken lines, each with a short text about a situation and how it tends to unfold. For more than two thousand years it has been read both as an oracle and as a book of philosophy.

How does the three-coin method work?

Toss three coins together. The inscribed side counts 2 and the plain side counts 3, so each toss adds up to 6, 7, 8 or 9. Seven is a solid (yang) line and 8 is a broken (yin) line. Six and 9 are "old" lines that are about to change. Six tosses build the hexagram from the bottom line up.

What are changing lines and the relating hexagram?

A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) marks a line at a turning point. Its own text is read as extra advice, and it flips to the opposite line to form a second figure, the relating hexagram, which shows where the situation is heading. A cast with no changing lines describes a situation that is settled for now.

Is an online reading as valid as tossing real coins?

Tradition cares more about a sincere, well-framed question than about the tool. Our virtual coins use your browser’s cryptographic random generator and follow the same odds as real coins: each changing line appears about one time in eight, each steady line about three times in eight.

Can I ask the same question again?

The classics discourage asking the same thing over and over, since it treats the first answer as if it did not count. Sit with the reading you received, act on what makes sense, and ask again once the situation has actually moved.

Is my question private?

Your question is sent to our writing service only to compose your reading and is not stored or shown to anyone. A shared link to your cast contains the six line numbers, not your question.

The I Ching is offered here as a traditional tool for reflection and entertainment. A reading describes a situation and its tendencies, not a fixed outcome, and is not medical, legal or financial advice.