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I Ching 2: an Oracle app for iPhone and iPad


4.0 ( 7440 ratings )
Lifestyle Entertainment
Developer: Giacomo Tufano
Free
Current version: 8.4.1, last update: 4 years ago
First release : 23 Feb 2009
App size: 28.38 Mb

The Ultimate I Ching Reader, this program facilitates the use of the I Ching (or the Book of Changes), an ancient Chinese classic text, as an oracle. The process of consulting it in this way involves determining the hexagram by a method of random generation and then reading the text associated with that hexagram.

The I Ching in itself and the program are localized in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish so that (almost) everyone can easily access the Oracle.

The program, with an easy and streamlined interface will allow you to consult the Oracle for your important (or not important) decisions when you cannot make your mind.
The result can be saved with a title and/or can sent via email to a friend or to yourself for later reading.

The program will permit also to browse signs and lines as in the original book to allow meditation and lateral thinking.

In this excerpt from the wonderful book of Douglas Adams "Mostly Harmless", simply substituting I Ching to Astrology and coins and signs to stars and planets, youll get a very good description of what I Ching is.
"In I Ching the rules happen to be about coins and signs, but they could be about ducks and drakes for all the difference it would make. Its just a way of thinking about a problem which lets the shape of the problem begin to emerge. The more the rules, the tinier the rules, the more arbitrary they are, the better. Its like throwing a handful of fine graphite dust on a piece of paper to see where the hidden indentations are. It lets you see the words that were written on the piece of paper above it thats now been taken away and hidden. The graphites not important. Its just the means of revealing their indentations. So you see, I Chings nothing to do with coins and signs. Its just to do with people thinking about people".

The fact that the book track his history to more than two thousand years ago and it is one of the most important books of ancient Chinese culture add to the meaning of it as "way to find what you think".

The program simulates the casting of three coins for six times and then determines the corresponding hexagram.
The "Sign" is the resulting hexagram, with the "changing lines", the lines that are changing from one state to the other.
The text related to this hexagram will represent "the Present", the actual state of the thing. Once a hexagram is determined, each line has been determined as either changing (old) or unchanging (young).
Any line in a hexagram that is old ("changing") adds additional meaning to that hexagram. Those are "the Mutations", the changes that are happening.
Taoist philosophy holds that powerful yin will eventually turn to yang (and vice versa), so a new hexagram is formed by transposing each changing yin line with a yang line, and vice versa. Thus, further insight into the process of change is gained by reading the text of this new hexagram and studying it as the result of the current change. This second hexagram is "the Future" and represents the resulting state after the current change.

Pros and cons of I Ching 2: an Oracle app for iPhone and iPad

I Ching 2: an Oracle app good for

Well-conceived process. Texts are cryptic but faithful as attributed.
Still feel the same! This is a great app. Good content and the localisation (French) is first-rate.
It grants a full 5 Stars! congratulations, very good and useful I King App!
Quando ho qualche dubbioi i ching hanno sempre un buon suggerimento!
I used to be interested in this in college, this app has revitalized my interest. Try it out, its surprisingly insightful.
I really like the new version. Visually its very beautiful. Its also a much improved interface. Thanks so much for these new changes. Ive been a student of the Ching for over 45 years and its so nice to have it at my fingertips.

Some bad moments

Hello, I Ching crash when it open? Even after i ve reloaded it? And purchase Alain? What happen ???
This is not a serious text, only for amusement. Any skilled reader will be disappointed.
I expected this to be like my I Ching book which has much more text and can be really thought provoking. What you see on the sample of this app is what you get each time you. I mean, that is *all* you get ... two short blurbs. And no virtual coin toss.  Not sure why others think the app is so great. Maybe Im missing something, but this will never work as any kind of oracle for me. Its coming off my iPhone the next time I sync with my Mac. Dont waste youron this.
Im disappointed. I bought this one because my english is not so good, but the app arent completly translated and worse, texts are not complete.
This app shows text, like an I ching book, but as soon as you buy it you learn that the text explaining the hexogram is missing because it belonged to Princeton. Sooo.. I just spent two bucks to get a hexagram with no explanation.
Throwing a hexagram is too easy; the focus should be on interpretation. With only the minimal text, this app isnt especially helpful.