What is the I Ching (Yijing) Book of Changes?

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Published 2022-12-30
The Book of Changes is a symbolic representation—and explanation—of the cosmos written in binary code. Learn more about I Ching, The Oracle: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/

Over the millennia, beginning with King Wen and his son the Duke of Zhou around 1046 BC, poetic prophetic lines of text are ascribed to the 64 hexagrams that the binary code is set in, lines steeped in cultural and historical references. Five centuries later, Confucius (or scholars attributing their writings to Confucius) add commentaries that describe, pictorialize, and interpret the hexagrams.

In 10 minutes (-ish), we’ll introduce the framework of the I Ching and its metaphysical underpinnings.

If this video has inspired you to learn more, then check out my third book, I Ching, The Oracle, an updated translation of the I Ching with in-depth annotations, cultural and historical references, and related mystical practices.

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I Ching, The Oracle (North Atlantic Books, 2023), benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/

- Amazon (US): a.co/d/cmm0qLP
- North Atlantic Books, a California-based non-profit publisher: www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/i-ching-the-oracle…
- Penguin Random House: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724023/i-ching-th…

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Read excerpts to supplement the video discussion:

CHAPTER 1: PREFACE, benebellwen.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/chapter-1-…

CHAPTER 2: MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND CULTURAL HEROES OF THE I CHING, benebellwen.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/chapter-2-…

HEXAGRAM 30: LI. THE SPARK, benebellwen.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/hexagram-3…

All Comments (21)
  • @Vort317545
    I consult the I Ching daily for insights. Amazingly amazingly accurate. Many respects to the Chinese people for bringing us the I Ching.
  • @kaos7186
    Very interesting work! As a member of the Chinese diaspora, the pre-buddhist traditional Chinese magic has always been a common and interesting yet inaccessible topic. Thanks Benebell!
  • @TheMissmauramac
    I came upon this video hoping to understand more about the I ching and then I saw the rest of your body of work and I think I'm about to become a benebell wen junkie. Your website alone is a one stop shop to all of my curiosities. I'm very grateful to have stumbled upon your practice! Thank you!
  • @TamuNgina
    I am so looking forward to your new YiJing Benebell, already put my preorder in. Yay!!!
  • @LesDefined
    I have been reading your book all night. Wow. It is so thorough and written well. This is going to be my go to book on the I-Ching. Thanks for creating it. I hope to get it signed one day. :)
  • Wow. There is an incredible amount of information packed into those 10 minutes. Need to review it all slowly to better digest it. Some years ago I managed to came to understand the inter-relation of the 8 trigrams and 64 hexagrams to the I Ching. Surprisingly it seemed very simplistic compared to how I previously viewed it as being really complex. I liked this simplicity very much but seem to have lost its simple nature that I had previously developed. Need to actively apply it. Look forward to the release of your book as this may catalyse me into exploring it much more deeply - regain that simple perspective.
  • @mtango9985
    Im amazed, you are truly a old soul, a higher being from the spiritual plane. Your a rare individual! Bless you❤❤❤
  • @billys16-7
    I’ve been a longtime student of the I Ching. I feel a sentient connection with it and hold it in such reverence. It leaves me flabbergasted, it is endlessly intriguing. It is the ultimate guide and teacher, a true gift and blessing to all who are truly interested in growing and evolving. Benebell your knowledge is astounding, I’m so grateful for you and your channel ( newly discovered for me) Fascinating content, you are such an authority thank you 🙏
  • @kristerlinder
    ★ Dear sister Wen - SO looking forward to this! Can't wait.
  • Loved this and I'm SO LOOKING FORWARD to getting your book and seeing your take on this life-changing book! Also, just wanted to THANK YOU for all the free avaliable content and resources you give away freely on your channel AND your website, your generosity is beyond words. Thank you 😊❤️🙏
  • You crammed so much info in this video! The I-Ching is such an interesting divination system with so much depth to it.
  • @SYAgencies0379
    Thank you for explaining so well, the understanding of how Havana time is counted and the ancient way of eternal time.
  • Thank you so much for this.. The I-Ching was my very first system of divination that I encountered personally. I absolutely fell in love with both the concept of the I-Ching, and divination.. Now, decades later, it is still my Go To system for confirmation in other systems which I use. Tarot, Runes, Astrology, Oracle decks, Yggdrasil, Numerology/Gematria, and to a much lesser degree, Scrying/Remote Viewing(which I am just seriously getting into after years of curiosity). Ingo Swann's book from years ago, Star Fire, actually set me on my course in life. There is always, always more to learn about the I-Ching and its relationship to our invisible world that affects our visible world so much... Thank you again for adding to the knowledge base of the people who you share these little gems with.......Us! An avid fan...
  • May You and Yours have a Blessed 2023🙏🙏🙏☯️☸️❤️🌺🌸
  • This was very useful as an intro for me for I Ching. I am exploring mythology, tarot, storytelling and many other related topics and I found your video very interesting and informative. Thank you!
  • @briana9918
    Benebell, I'm deeply grateful for you and your videos. Thank you for sharing your incredible and fascinating wisdom
  • @TamuNgina
    And BTW, I absolutely DIG the appropriateness of your attire. You look stunning! I am so excited for your forthcoming translation.
  • This is Excellent. Thank you! I am in an endless state of wonder over the precisely appropriate insights the Zhouyi offers me every time I consult it. You have packed so much essential foundation into these ten minutes.
  • @ethangrey113
    this is an incredible introduction to the system! thank you 🙏
  • @thormusique
    Wow, thank you so much! This is the best summary of I Ching I've ever heard. Perhaps strangely, I was very much drawn to the I Ching, as well as the Tao Te Ching, and the Analects of Confucius even before I was 10 years old. And I continued to consult these texts (and used yarrow stalks for the I Ching) into adulthood. For whatever reason, I'd got away from them for some years, and just recently I found myself dreaming specifically about the I Ching, so I've taken it as a sign, as I continue to have very fond memories of having consulted all these texts in my early years and believe those experiences to have been responsible for shaping the course of my life. And having been a buddhist for several decades now, I'm very grateful for those Chinese texts in that they shaped the sense of ethics and morals I continue to hold dear. I'm very much looking forward to reading your book on the I Ching. Cheers!