Preparing to cast

1. Settle your mind and surroundings

Choose a quiet place where you will not be interrupted and silence notifications. Sit upright with both feet on the floor, take three slow breaths, and bring your attention to the matter at hand.

• Approach the process sincerely and openly rather than as a joke, test, or challenge.
• If you are furious, panicked, intoxicated, severely tired, or unable to focus, pause and return when you are steadier.

2. Ask one specific question

Address one matter that genuinely requires judgment. Identify the people involved, the present situation, the period you want to examine, and the choice within your control. Use aliases and omit sensitive personal information.

• Specific: “If I accept this role, what conditions and risks should I watch over the next three months?”
• Too broad: “Will my future be good?”
• Keep work, relationships, money, and other separate matters in separate consultations.
• Ask neutrally; do not demand that the reading confirm a preferred answer.

3. Do not repeat the same consultation

If the objective circumstances have not changed, do not cast repeatedly simply because you dislike the result. Repetition easily becomes a search for the desired answer instead of a way to understand the situation.

• If the wording was unclear, refine the question before doing anything else.
• Reconsider only when new facts emerge, conditions materially change, or the original time horizon has ended.

4. Prepare tools and a record

For a manual casting, prepare three coins of the same size, denomination, and material, plus paper and a pen. Decide which side represents yin and which represents yang before starting, and keep that convention for all six throws.

• Record each throw immediately.
• Build the hexagram from the bottom upward: the first throw is the first line and the sixth is the top line.
• A system casting needs no coins, but you should still focus on the same clear question before starting.

5. Know the purpose and limits

A hexagram can help organize relationships, conditions, timing, and possible action. It does not guarantee an outcome and cannot replace your judgment or responsibility.

• For medical, legal, investment, or safety decisions, rely on qualified professionals and verifiable information.
• In an emergency involving illness, violence, a missing person, or immediate danger, contact local emergency services first.

Final check before casting

• I can state the one matter I am asking about in a single sentence.
• The people, current situation, and time horizon are clear enough.
• I am not repeating the casting because I disliked an earlier result.
• I am willing to test the interpretation against facts and action.

When you are ready, hold the question quietly in mind and choose either a manual or system casting.