combining I ching and tarot

would like to start a thread conversation with others who are exploring using these two divination tool together, each of us sharing what we are experiencing? more as equal researchers into this?

For those who may not have seen it, I posted this in another thread you started. Coming from a tarot perspective, using the cards to form the lines of the hexagram and determine changing lines helped me to feel closer to the formation of the hexagram. And experience showed me that the tarot interpretations often mirrored what the hexagram was trying to say.

Rodney

I come from having used I Ching since mid 1990's. and I have been exploring card decks for the past several years. I am not conventional tarot user. I realize that I resonate with decks that have nature theme, and or oriental theme. my decks loosely follow the tarot framework in that most of them have 78 cards, major and minor arcana, but they "speak" a different language. each one of them. I ching is my primary tool, I am exploring tarot to see how this works to expand on personal issues that the hexagram points to. I approach I ching and tarot from perspective that I am having conversation with Wisdom and I am open humbly to learning what is most important for me to know at this time. It has been my experience doing readings from this perspective that for many years, my focus was brought to my inner world. and now I am being taught larger picture, of how these things work in the larger world. I Ching came from culture where it was dangerous to step on the tall of the tiger. ( powerful governmental forces). so they found other ways of handling conflicts. that I am realizing are very wise. and keep one from being in eye of the storm. largely by learning how to work with Invisible Realm. and learning how to recognize discordant energies within and without. It is very different approach to life.

I'm awaiting a copy of the I Ching - Dead Moon tarot. It combines the tarot with the I Ching, it seems. Definitely looks like a very interesting deck, to be sure.

I've developed my own system to connect the two and have been using it since 1976. It doesn't claim any historical connection, only resonances in symbol meanings. My newly drafted book on Tarot talks a little about the Yijing (was I Ching) counterpart for each of the cards and a little about the overall system. This is based on the fact that most of the symbols have two parts, called portmanteaus in some circles, a subject and a predicate part to oversimplify a bit. Note that in the Yijing 64+8+4+2, the major symbols, equals 78. I also talk about the system a little in my translation of the Yijing and show how it works geometrically within the Yijing's system.
A lot of people have tinkered with this, including Crowley. I used a little of Crowley's system, but not all. Mostly what you find in the Tarot books, however, is a number of systems done by people who have little to no understanding of the Yijing, much less any ability to read it in Chinese.
The 2-volume Yijing is a free pdf download at http://www.hermetica.info
and the draft of the Tarot book is online at http://www.hermetica.info/Tarot.htm

so are you both interested in exploring this together from perspective of equality between us all. each one of us coming from different perspective, sort of like the blind folks around the elephant of Life? sounds like it would be quite interesting to work together. I am not interested in learning a different tech. I have my own way of working with I Ching and Wisdom is showing me how to integrate Tarot. Rather each of us using our unique ways of combining these tools together as in my experience the more i use I ching the more I realize gratefully how complex it is. deeper down the rabbit hole i go. and would love other companions who also are exploring the realms that open up with combining tarot and I Ching. This post is for fellow explorers, If you have your own method you want to promote, start a different thread? This thread is not for promoting self. it is for exploring life together each one of using combo of tarot and I ching. the magic that happens when folks gather together versus doing by self. If this appeals to you, lets do this. Have a feeling the 3 of us are solitary practitioners. I Ching is more a solitary tool. very good one. best one I have come across, and I think there is real benefit to be had in combining wisdom of tarot imagery with wisdom of I Ching which derived from pictorial language/culture.

Clockwork Ghost said:

I'm awaiting a copy of the I Ching - Dead Moon tarot. It combines the tarot with the I Ching, it seems. Definitely looks like a very interesting deck, to be sure.

Click to expand...

This deck sounds fascinating. will be interested to hear your experiences of using it. I Ching has been around longer than Tarot, several thousands of years longer. but fairly new to western world. Tarot has been around in western world for long time. is possibly the western version of I Ching. I resonate more with Nature themed philosophies, tools, etc. so am more comfortable with I ching for this reason and in truth have found the tools that have helped me the best originate from China. I like tarot for its use of pictorial language, but do not resonate with the time era, cultures that much of came from. so most of my tarot decks are not western culture oriented.

What led you to the above deck? share more of your journey?

bradford said:

I've developed my own system to connect the two and have been using it since 1976. It doesn't claim any historical connection, only resonances in symbol meanings. My newly drafted book on Tarot talks a little about the Yijing (was I Ching) counterpart for each of the cards and a little about the overall system. This is based on the fact that most of the symbols have two parts, called portmanteaus in some circles, a subject and a predicate part to oversimplify a bit. Note that in the Yijing 64+8+4+2, the major symbols, equals 78. I also talk about the system a little in my translation of the Yijing and show how it works geometrically within the Yijing's system.
A lot of people have tinkered with this, including Crowley. I used a little of Crowley's system, but not all. Mostly what you find in the Tarot books, however, is a number of systems done by people who have little to no understanding of the Yijing, much less any ability to read it in Chinese.
The 2-volume Yijing is a free pdf download at http://www.hermetica.info
and the draft of the Tarot book is online at http://www.hermetica.info/Tarot.htm

Click to expand...

I love that you are adept at using I Ching, it irritates me too at the way folks attempt to put out things without years of working with it. It is complex tool compounded by it is based on Nature, rather than human centered. Western culture is human centered. It took me a long time to get past human centeredness and also fear of disobeying the Christian belief thing. In my experience this is tool that takes time to learn, I do not know that I ever will be at point to write book/deck about it. (not my path). but one thing I have learned is the Wisdom that works through I Ching works with each person differently. Is fascinating that you came up with method to combine the two early on. I was purist with I Ching for long time, so part of my cautiousness is that I do not want to water down the wisdom in the I Ching, by combining the two. So would be interested to learn of your journey? your experiences working with the two?