I Ching - Yarrow Sticks vs Coins
There are two popular tools to cast the I Ching: the Yarrow Sticks and the Coins. However, these two tools are not equal, and can yield very different results based on numerical probability and statistics. The third and most ancient method, that of heating a tortoise shell until it cracked, is long lost to us.
The ancients said that the stalk of the yarrow had a special spiritual nature and was, therefore, suitable for divination. If you harvest your own yarrow, the stalks should be anywhere from seven to thirteen inches long, relatively straight, and fairly smooth.
Using the yarrow stalks, the person asking the question grasps a number of the stalks from a bunch of forty-nine. Since the person has no idea how many stalks he is actually holding, this allows him to let go of his rational, analytical mind and enter into the spiritual world where, it is believed, some part of himself actually knows exactly how many stalks he is holding.
With the coins, the person asking the question shakes three coins in his cupped hands and throws them onto a flat surface. Since the person can't know how they will land, his rational mind gives way to the spiritual. In this regard, the two methods are alike.
The differences, however, show in the statistics. Both the coin method and the yarrow stalk method yields lines numerically. The final numbers obtainable with both methods are 6, 7, 8, and 9. The following tables show the statistical probability of obtaining those numbers with both methods.
YARROW COIN 6 = 1 in 16 6 = 2 in 16 9 = 3 in 16 9 = 2 in 16 7 = 5 in 16 7 = 6 in 16 8 = 7 in 16 8 = 6 in 16
As you can see, there is a difference in the probability of achieving the various numbers with the two methods. The main difference occurs in obtaining the numbers 6 and 9. Looking at the chart, you can see that the probability of obtaining a 6 or a 9 with both methods is the same: 4 in 16. However, with the coins the probability of obtaining a 6 or a 9 is equal, but with the yarrow stalks, the probability of obtaining a 9 is three times greater than obtaining a six.
Because the solid line obtained by a 9 is good, light, strong and virtuous, and the broken line obtained by a 6 is dark, evil and weak, and because the possibility of obtaining a 9 is three times greater than a 6, you can see that the Universe is favorably inclined. That is how and why the Universe continues.
Most importantly, casting the yarrow stalks takes about twenty minutes to accomplish. During this time, you are engaged in spiritual communion with the All, which is the heart and soul of the process. Casting the I Ching becomes a process of meditation, in and of itself, using this method.
The coin method only takes about two minutes, and therefore doesn't allow you time to divorce yourself from the mundane world long enough to explore the wisdom or your higher, intuitive self.