Swami Anand Nisarg

Yes, there is a mystical/cosmological reason for this. It has to do with the nature of change. The I Ching measures change in reality over time. In our reality, change does not happen with equal probability. If you look at the odds, in the Yarrow/Four-Staves method, there is equal chance (8/16) of getting a Yin or a Yang; but there is a big difference in the odds of getting a Yin turning into a Yang (1/16) versus getting a Yang turning into a Yin (3/16). This is because Yang represents a strong force, and Yin a weak force. In our reality it is more likely to see phenomena that are weak but stable than things that are strong but stable, and more likely to see strong things becoming weak than weak things becoming strong. I very recently elaborated on these details about Yin and Yang in the latest entry of the Yi Fa Society blog.

Hello, I'm the author of the book in question! Over in the I Ching facebook group I run, someone brought this post to my attention. I'm sorry that it didn't seem clearly explained in your reading of it. I'll see if I can clarify it here. So, on p.43-44 of The Magician's I Ching, I explain the Four Staves Method (it can actually be done with any four flat sticks or even four coins, the "carpenter's pencil" was just an example I provided of what I've used). You have to designate (marking some kind of difference) which side of the four objects you are using is "yin" and which is "yang". Quoting from the book I wrote (keywords in bold): "If all four come up Yin, the result is a broken changing line..." "if three come up Yin (and one Yang): the result is a broken line..." "If they are tied (2 and 2), you have to look at the one that fell further to your left: -if that symbol is a Yin: the result is a broken line... -if that symbol is a Yang: the result is a solid changing line..." "If three come up Yang (and one Yin) OR if all four come up Yang, the result is a solid line..." So you can see, I explained there which are the two cases where the casting of the 'four staves' will create changing lines. And yes, there can be more than one changing line. You should also make sure to look at the table on p.49-50, which will tell you what parts to read of the hexagram depending on how many changing lines you received. I hope this clarifies things for you. If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to add me on Facebook; or go to The Magician's I Ching facebook group (which is not just about my book, it's a general discussion group where we talk about all kinds of things related to the I Ching). It's open to anyone who's interested in I Ching and owning my particular version of the I Ching is not required.

Hello. I'm the author of the book "The Magician's I Ching". I joined this group mainly to answer a question someone had about my book on this forum. I hope that's allowed.