The three-coin method is the most widely used way to cast a hexagram, and it takes about two minutes. Three identical coins, six tosses, one line each — built from the bottom up.
What you need
Three identical coins. Traditional practice favours old Chinese coins with a square hole, but any three matching coins work. What matters is that you can tell the two faces apart.
The counting
Assign 3 points to one face and 2 points to the other. Which face gets 3 varies between traditions and does not change the result, so pick one and stay consistent.
| Total | Toss | Line | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | three 2s | Old yin | Yin that changes |
| 7 | one 3, two 2s | Young yang | Yang, stable |
| 8 | two 3s, one 2 | Young yin | Yin, stable |
| 9 | three 3s | Old yang | Yang that changes |
Only 6 and 9 are moving lines. Those are the ones that flip to produce the transformed hexagram.
Which face is which
Sources genuinely disagree. Some count the inscribed face as 2 and the plain face as 3; others the reverse. It does not matter for the result, because the mapping from totals to line types is symmetric — what matters is that you decide before you start and do not switch mid-cast.
The six tosses
- Settle the question in your mind first. One question, not three.
- Toss all three coins and add the points. Record the line.
- Repeat five more times, drawing each new line above the previous one.
- Lines with a total of 6 or 9 are moving; note them.
- Invert every moving line to get the transformed hexagram.
Coins vs. yarrow stalks
The older yarrow method uses fifty stalks and is far slower. It also produces different probabilities: coins give an equal 1/8 chance of each line type, while yarrow favours young yin and old yang. If you are reading the classical text this rarely changes the answer, but it is worth knowing which method your source assumes.
Common mistakes
- Recasting because you dislike the answer. The text is explicit that this gets you nothing.
- Asking several unrelated questions in one cast.
- Drawing top-down instead of bottom-up — this reverses the hexagram entirely.
- Switching which coin face counts as 3 partway through.
What to do with the result
Once the six lines are cast, the reading has three layers: the primary hexagram describes the situation, any moving lines describe what is changing, and the hexagram they produce describes where it is going. Read in that order.