The Visual Language - How to Draw and Note I Ching Lines

Once you’ve completed your I Ching cast, the first step in recording your result is to accurately draw the six lines that form your hexagram. The I Ching uses a simple yet profound visual language: solid lines represent Yang (masculine, active, creative energy), and broken lines represent Yin (feminine, receptive, yielding energy). Furthermore, lines can be either stable or in a state of change, and this distinction is crucial to capture.

Understanding the Four Line Types and Their Notation

Each line you cast will fall into one of four categories, typically determined by the numerical result from your chosen casting method (e.g., sums of 6, 7, 8, or 9 in the common three-coin or yarrow stalk methods). Here’s how to draw and note each type:

Stable Yang Line (Unchanging Yang)

• Typical Numerical Result: Sum of 7 (often called “Young Yang”).

• How to Draw: A single, solid, unbroken horizontal line.

  ---------

• Meaning: Represents active, creative Yang energy that is currently stable and not undergoing transformation.

Stable Yin Line (Unchanging Yin)

• Typical Numerical Result: Sum of 8 (often called “Young Yin”).

• How to Draw: A single horizontal line broken in the middle.

  ---   ---

• Meaning: Represents receptive, yielding Yin energy that is currently stable.

Changing Yang Line (Old Yang)

• Typical Numerical Result: Sum of 9.

• How to Draw: A solid Yang line with a special mark to indicate its changing nature. Common marks include:

  • A small circle in the middle: ----o----

  • An “X” in the middle: ----X----

  • Sometimes simply noted as “9” next to a solid line.

    ----o----  OR  ----X----

• Meaning: Represents Yang energy that has reached its peak or fullness and is about to transform into its opposite, Yin. This is a highly significant line.

Changing Yin Line (Old Yin)

• Typical Numerical Result: Sum of 6.

• How to Draw: A broken Yin line with a special mark. Common marks include:

  • An “X” through the center of the broken line: --- X ---

  • Sometimes noted as “6” next to a broken line.

    --- X ---

• Meaning: Represents Yin energy that has reached its extreme and is about to transform into its opposite, Yang. This is also a highly significant line.

Consistency is Key

Choose a notation method for your changing lines (e.g., circles for changing Yang, X’s for changing Yin, or vice-versa, or just X’s for both) and use it consistently in your I Ching journal. This will make your records much easier to read and understand when you revisit them. Many classic texts use the “o” for changing Yang (9) and “x” for changing Yin (6).

Building Your Hexagram: From the Bottom Up

This is a fundamental principle in recording I Ching hexagrams: always draw your lines starting from the bottom and moving upwards.

• Line 1: The first line you cast and draw is the bottom-most line of the hexagram.
• Line 2: The second line is drawn directly above the first.
• Line 3: Drawn above the second.
• Line 4: Drawn above the third.
• Line 5: Drawn above the fourth.
• Line 6: The sixth and final line is drawn at the very top.

This bottom-up construction reflects the way energy is often seen to build or situations develop – from the ground up, from the internal to the external.

Example of Recording a Hexagram:

Let’s say you made the following casts for your six lines:

• Line 1 (bottom): Result 7 (Stable Yang)
• Line 2: Result 6 (Changing Yin)
• Line 3: Result 8 (Stable Yin)
• Line 4: Result 9 (Changing Yang)
• Line 5: Result 7 (Stable Yang)
• Line 6 (top): Result 8 (Stable Yin)

You would draw it like this (using “o” for 9 and “x” for 6):

---   ---  (Line 6 - Stable Yin)
---------  (Line 5 - Stable Yang)
----o----  (Line 4 - Changing Yang)
---   ---  (Line 3 - Stable Yin)
--- X ---  (Line 2 - Changing Yin)
---------  (Line 1 - Stable Yang)

A Note on Digital Recording:

If you are keeping a digital journal, you can use text characters to represent the lines (e.g., --------- for solid, --- --- for broken, and add an (o) or (x) next to changing lines). However, visually drawing them, even simply, can be more engaging. Many people create simple templates or worksheets for their journals.

Downloadable Template/Worksheet Idea

Consider creating a simple PDF worksheet that users can download. It could have spaces to record:

• Date/Time
• Question
• Casting Method
• A grid of six empty slots to draw the lines.
• Space for the Primary Hexagram number/name.
• Space for the Secondary Hexagram number/name.
• Notes/Reflections.

By mastering this simple visual language, you lay the groundwork for accurately capturing the results of your I Ching consultations, which is the first essential step towards insightful interpretation.

In the next part, we will begin “Part 2: Decoding the Structure - Identifying Key Components of Your Reading,” starting with “Article 3: Spotlight on Change - Identifying and Understanding Changing Lines.”