13
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away some at will; the remaining ones were counted to see whether they were even or odd. To avoid making a mistake, they were arranged by twos, each pair in the shape of a cross. If at the end one cross remained (an even number), the result was a bad indication, hsiung (†4: 2 sticks inside a container); if only one stick remained, it was a good omen, chỉ (l'¡ : the top shows 3 sticks, which is clearer than just one; the bottom shows a ‘mouth', probably replacing an older writing of a container)”*
This originally very simple technique, in which only 2 kinds of answers were obtained, “yes” and “no”, developed into more complex forms: perhaps the question was repeated several times (cp. the present-day "moon-block" divination) and the results written above each other. In that case, an even number was expressed by two short lines written in a horizontal way: - - It had nothing to do with yin or a ‘broken line'. An odd number was expressed by just one line. The Iching philosophy started from the trigrams: at one time the eight different answers obtained by repeating the oracle three times were interpreted in a cosmological way. That left the door open for further speculation and resulted in the 64 hexagrams. At this stage, numerology lost its meaning. The only trace of the older method of counting sticks in a container is found in the use of 50 yarrow stalks: they are still counted, but merely to obtain one of the 64 hexagrams, not any longer to find a positive or a negative answer to one's question.
There are many other ways of using a number of dried stalks in divination: several methods are found in China as well as in other cultures, and it is not certain that the old milfoil method has always been a uniform technique. One other hypothesis is that a number of sticks were thrown at random on the ground and the diviners would draw interpretations from the configurations obtained. This is suggested by the definition of “geomancy” as given in Webster's dictionary: “a kind of divination by figures or lines formed by a handful of earth cast on the ground, or by dots or points drawn at random.””
One can clearly see how lines can be obtained by throwing a handful of stalks. To go even one step further: one can find a strong similarity and perhaps a historical link between oracle bone
13
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away some at will; the remaining ones were counted to see whether they were even or odd. To avoid making a mistake, they were arranged by twos, each pair in the shape of a cross If at the end one cross remained (an even number), the result was a bad indication, hsiung (†4: 2 sticks inside a container); if only one stick remained, it was a good omen, chỉ (l'¡ : the top shows 3 sticks, which is clearer than just one; the bottom shows a ‘mouth', proba- bly replacing an older writing of a container)”*
This originally very simple technique, in which only 2 kinds of answers were obtained, “yes” and “no”, developed into more complex forms: perhaps the question was repeated several times (cp. the present-day "moon-block" divination) and the results written above each other. In that case, an even number was ex- pressed by two short lines written in an horizontal way: - - It had nothing to do with yin or a ‘broken line'. An odd number was expressed by just one line. The Iching philosophy started from the trigrams: at one time the eight different answers obtained by repeating the oracle three times were interpreted in a cosmological way. That left the door open for further speculation and resulted in the 64 hexagrams. At this stage, numerology lost its meaning. The only trace of the older method of counting sticks in a container is found in the use of 50 yarrow stalks: they are still counted, but merely to obtain one of the 64 hexagrams, not any longer to find a positive or a negative answer to one's question.
There are many other ways of using a number of dried stalks in divination: several methods are found in China as well as in other cultures, and it is not certain that the old milfoil method has always been a uniform technique. One other hypothesis is that a number of sticks were thrown at random on the ground and the diviners would draw interpretations from the configurations ob- tained. This is suggested by the definition of “geomancy” as given in Webster's dictionary: “a kind of divination by figures or lines formed by a handful of earth cast on the ground, or by dots or points drawn at random.””
One can clearly see how lines can be obtained by throwing a handful of stalks. To go even one step further: one can find a strong similarity and perhaps a historical link between oracle bone
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