Divination Practices with the Zhouyi

This article explores how the Zhouyi served as a practical tool for divination. We will discuss the methods believed to have been used to consult the oracle, such as the yarrow stalk method, and examine the kinds of questions and guidance sought by people in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Seeking Guidance: The Purpose of Divination

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, consulting the Zhouyi was a way to seek clarity and guidance in a world perceived to be full of spiritual influences and unseen forces. Divination was not merely about "telling the future" in a fatalistic sense; it was more about understanding the tendencies of a current situation, the potential outcomes of different actions, and how to align oneself with the auspicious forces of the cosmos (or avoid inauspicious ones).

People consulted the oracle for a variety of reasons:

• Decision Making: To help decide on courses of action, such as whether to undertake a journey, launch a military campaign, or enter into an alliance.
• Understanding Omens: To interpret unusual events or omens and understand their significance.
• Auspicious Timing: To determine favorable times for important activities like marriages, constructions, or agricultural sowings.
• Assessing Situations: To gain insight into complex or uncertain situations, understand hidden dynamics, and anticipate potential developments.

The Yarrow Stalk Method (Shi Fa 蓍法)

While other divination methods existed (like interpreting cracks in heated bones or shells, known as pyromancy), the Zhouyi is most famously associated with the yarrow stalk method. This was a somewhat complex ritualized process involving the manipulation of fifty yarrow stalks (though one was set aside, and 49 were used in the counting).

Through a series of divisions and counting of these stalks, the diviner would generate a series of numbers that corresponded to either Yin or Yang lines, and whether these lines were "changing" or "stable." This process would be repeated six times to build a hexagram from the bottom up. Changing lines were considered particularly significant, as they indicated a transformation from the initial hexagram to a second, related one, offering further layers of interpretation.

The deliberation and ritual involved in the yarrow stalk method lent an air of seriousness and sanctity to the divination process. (Later, the coin method would emerge as a simpler, more common way to cast a hexagram, but the yarrow stalk method is considered the classical approach.)

Interpreting the Results

Once a hexagram (and potentially any changing lines and a resulting second hexagram) was obtained, the diviner would consult the corresponding texts in the Zhouyi – the Hexagram Statement and the relevant Line Statements. The interpretation was not always straightforward and often required skill and intuition. The diviner's role was to weave together the symbolic meaning of the hexagram, the often-terse textual pronouncements, and the specifics of the querent's situation to provide meaningful guidance.