How to Cast I Ching with Three Coins | Step-by-Step Guide

The Three-Coin Method

The three-coin method is the most widely used way to cast I Ching hexagrams. Instead of the classical 49-stalk yarrow method, you use three coins and six tosses to produce a complete six-line hexagram with full information for interpretation.

Each coin face has a value: heads = 3 (yang), tails = 2 (yin). Three coins summed give four possible line values.

Coin Value Table

Sum	Faces	Line symbol	Name	Type
6	Tails + Tails + Tails	× (moving yin)	Old Yin	Moving line
7	Tails + Tails + Heads	— (static yang)	Young Yang	Static line
8	Tails + Heads + Heads	- - (static yin)	Young Yin	Static line
9	Heads + Heads + Heads	O (moving yang)	Old Yang	Moving line

Lines with values 6 and 9 are moving lines — the active, transforming points that carry the most direct information about your question.

Step-by-Step: Casting a Hexagram

Step 1 — Form a clear question

Before tossing, fix a specific, sincere question in your mind. Good questions focus on your own situation:

• "What is the outlook for my career over the next three months?"
• "Should I continue this relationship?"
• "What do I need to know about this decision?"

Avoid vague questions ("What does my future look like?") or questions about other people's inner states.

Step 2 — Settle your mind

Hold the three coins in both hands. Close your eyes, breathe steadily, and hold the question in your mind for 1–2 minutes. No ritual is required — only genuine focus.

Step 3 — Toss six times, build lines from the bottom up

For each toss: shake the coins in cupped hands, release them, count the sum, record the line type.

Important: Hexagrams are built from the bottom up. The first toss is Line 1 (the bottom line); the sixth toss is Line 6 (the top line).

Worked Example

Question: "Should I accept the new job offer?"

• Toss 1 (Line 1): H + T + T = 3+2+2 = 7 → static yang (—)
• Toss 2 (Line 2): H + H + T = 3+3+2 = 8 → static yin (- -)
• Toss 3 (Line 3): T + T + T = 2+2+2 = 6 → moving yin (×)
• Toss 4 (Line 4): H + T + T = 3+2+2 = 7 → static yang (—)
• Toss 5 (Line 5): H + H + T = 3+3+2 = 8 → static yin (- -)
• Toss 6 (Line 6): H + T + T = 3+2+2 = 7 → static yang (—)

Reading bottom up: — / - - / × / — / - - / —. Lower trigram (lines 1-3: — - - ×) = Kǎn (Water). Upper trigram (lines 4-6: — - - —) = Kǎn → Hexagram 29, Kǎn (Water Doubled, The Abyss). Line 3 is a moving line, so a derived hexagram exists.

Cast Online at KinhDich.AkiNet.me

The online caster simulates three coins with cryptographically correct probabilities. You press "Cast Line" six times and receive the full result automatically: primary hexagram, nuclear hexagram, derived hexagram, and all line texts.