Life crossroad answer reading through I Ching and tarot card integration
I Ching Tarot is a divination system that integrates the 64 hexagrams of the timeless Eastern classic I Ching (周易) with Western Tarot cards. It adds tarot's symbolic imagery to I Ching's Yin-Yang and Five Elements philosophy, providing interpretation that encompasses both principle and intuition.
While I Ching is a study that reads the flow of times through natural laws of change, tarot is a tool that visually expresses human emotions and situations. I Ching Tarot combines both systems for more three-dimensional insight.
The I Ching (周易) is the supreme Eastern classic. According to legend, Fu Xi (伏羲) drew the eight trigrams, after which King Wen of Zhou (周文王) systematized them into 64 hexagrams and assigned Gwasa. Confucius (孔子) authored the Ten Wings (十翼), adding philosophical commentary.
The I Ching consists of the Upper Canon (上經) with 30 hexagrams and the Lower Canon (下經) with 34 hexagrams, systematically organizing the laws of change in nature and human affairs. The I Ching Upper Canon focuses on natural principles, while the I Ching Lower Canon centers on human affairs.
The Ten Wings (十翼) are ten commentaries added by Confucius and his disciples, philosophically unpacking the meaning of hexagrams and lines, establishing the I Ching not merely as a divination text but as a philosophical work and classic.
The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are formed by combining 8 trigrams (八卦). Each hexagram consists of 6 lines (爻), which are either yin lines (--) or yang lines (—). The bottom three lines form the lower trigram (下卦), and the top three form the upper trigram (上卦).
The eight trigrams are Qian (乾), Dui (兌), Li (離), Zhen (震), Xun (巽), Kan (坎), Gen (艮), and Kun (坤), symbolizing heaven, lake, fire, thunder, wind, water, mountain, and earth respectively. Their combinations create 64 hexagrams, each with unique Gwasa (卦辭) and Yosa (爻辭).
For example, the Water-Thunder (屯) hexagram has Water (Kan) above and Thunder (Zhen) below, meaning difficulty and potential at the beginning. The Heaven-Fire (姤) hexagram combines Heaven (Qian) and Fire (Li), symbolizing unexpected encounters.
I Ching Tarot maps I Ching hexagrams with Tarot Arcana, containing both Eastern and Western symbolism within a single reading. For example, the heaven energy of Qian (乾) connects to tarot's The Emperor, and the earth energy of Kun (坤) connects to The Empress.
This mapping is not arbitrary but based on the symbolic core shared by each hexagram and card. While hexagrams speak natural principles, cards visualize human experience, translating abstract principles into concrete situations.
In the I Ching, Yin-Yang (陰陽) is the fundamental principle of all things. Yang (—) is bright, active, and expansive energy, while yin (--) is dark, passive, and convergent energy. The 64 hexagrams carry different meanings based on yin-yang arrangements.
Each line's position carries different meaning — the initial line represents the beginning of events, and the top line represents the outcome. Changing lines (變爻), where yin and yang switch, are key clues showing how the current situation will change.
I Ching Tarot analyzes both the original hexagram (本卦) and the transformed hexagram (變卦). The original hexagram represents the current situation, while the transformed hexagram indicates the future direction of change. By tracking how changing lines form a new hexagram, one reads how the situation will unfold.
Xiangci (象辭) is an interpretation method that draws natural principles from the hexagram's form, systematized in the Xiangzhuan (象傳) of the Ten Wings. This translates abstract hexagram meanings into concrete life wisdom.
I Ching Tarot is an original method of applying thousands of years of Eastern philosophy of change to modern everyday life. The wisdom of knowing the times emphasized by I Ching and the intuitive insight provided by tarot combine to help find direction even in complex modern society.
The I Ching's core message — 'the only constant is change' — reminds modern people of the importance of flexibility and adaptability, while tarot's symbols make that philosophy sensuously understandable.
LunaWitch's I Ching Tarot is based on the traditions of the I Ching Upper and Lower Canons, Ten Wings, and authoritative Tarot Arcana sources, containing the essence of Eastern and Western divination within a single reading. In particular, it brings the wisdom of I Ching—grounded in Korean Yihak tradition—into modern sensibility, providing deeper insight. The mystical Luna warmly explains the deep principles of I Ching and the intuitive symbols of tarot.
Thousands of years of wisdom translated into modern language, aiming to provide practical help in your life. Discover the deep fortune journey where I Ching principles and tarot symbols meet, with LunaWitch.
I Ching Upper/Lower Canon, Ten Wings, Tarot Arcana authoritative sources
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