This I Ching was written under the guidance of the Sage that speaks through the I Ching oracle. It shows the Cosmos as a system of harmony, the principles of which are clearly described in its 64 hexagrams.
The purpose of consulting the oracle is to inquire, before an undertaking, whether you are in harmony with the Cosmic Way. When this is confirmed by the words "success," or "good fortune," whatever you do will be supported by the invisible helping forces of the Cosmos. When your attitude is discordant, the oracle predicts "misfortune," meaning that these helping forces will not support what you do. The answers of the oracle are not to be taken as fortune-telling, but as reflecting the cosmic consequences of your attitude toward your goal.
All counsel given by the I Ching is directed toward helping you return to harmony with the Cosmos. To do this you are being given a deeper understanding of the principles of Cosmic Harmony that are involved in the issue at hand. In the light of these principles you will be able to recognize particular mistaken ideas that are the cause of your discord, or misfortune. This book is the first I Ching oracle that shows you how to deprogram the obstructing ideas, and thus reunite with the Cosmic Harmony.
Also presented in this book is an innovative method of communicating directly with the Sage that speaks through the I Ching. This method allows you to clarify its message until it assures you that you have reached an adequate understanding. Regularly consulting the I Ching in this way leads to clarifying insights into your life’s purpose, and to a pronounced increase in your own creativity. It was through this method, in combination with meditations and dreams, that the Sage gave the authors the completely new perspective on the nature of the Cosmos, human nature, and the place of humans within the Cosmic Whole described here. Rather than presenting you with fixed answers to every problem, this book allows the Cosmic Teacher called "the Sage" to show you your own path to insight and inner guidance.
Carol K. Anthony; Hanna Moog
Ms. Anthony began her study of the I Ching in 1971, during a mid-life crisis. She describes this time as of sufficient difficulty to have made her open and receptive when a friend introduced the I Ching to her. She found that it immediately spoke to her on several levels of awareness, and taught her to meditate in an entirely unique way that helped her understood more clearly what the hexagrams were saying. She began to keep notes of these understandings. More than 7 years later, these notes became a complete set. Two experiences in meditation guided her to publish them under the title, A Guide to the I Ching, and to found Anthony Publishing Company in 1979. She very quickly experienced that her book filled a unique need for people who were trying to understand the I Ching’s counsel; it remains today a continuing success. The I Ching has continued to be her teacher and guide for all aspects of her life.
Born Carol Kessler in West Virginia, Ms. Anthony attended Ward-Belmont College in Nashville and the State University of Iowa, in Iowa City, majoring in English and Creative Writing. She has lived most of her adult life in Stow, Massachusetts, where she spent some time writing as a journalist and editorial writer for the local newspaper, and raising her family of four children, who, together with her seven grandchildren, still live nearby.
Hanna Moog, b. 1946, has been a translator of English books on the I Ching into German, before she put out a collection of essays under the title Leben mit dem I Ging. Erfahrungen aus Kunst, Therapie, Beruf und Alltag. ("Living with the I Ching. Experiences in the Arts, Therapy, and Professional and Everyday Life," Diederichs, 1996). She also contributed as a translator and commentator to the book I Ging, Das Orakel- und Weisheitsbuch Chinas. ("I Ching, The Oracle and Wisdom Book of China." Knaur, 1994).
Ms. Moog, who has a master’s degree in National Economics, and diplomas in French and English, came to the I Ching in 1982 during a personal crisis. Although she had no one to teach her the I Ching, she allowed it to speak to her feelings. "I was deeply touched by its answers. I realized that no human being would have been able to characterize, as it did, my desperate situation so perfectly. At the same time, it gave me the deep certainty that there was something good in my life waiting to be discovered...something that meant growth, and a new kind of life; something that would truly fulfill me."
Consulting the Richard Wilhelm translation of the I Ching daily, she felt that she often only got a glimpse of what it was saying, but she decided to keep her mind open so that a deeper understanding could take place through experience.
Her dedication to the I Ching began to open more and more doors to being invited to speak and write about it. In 1985 she became a free lance editor for Eugen Diederichs Verlag, the company that had first published the Wilhelm translation, specializing in editing books and translations on the I Ching, Asian philosophy, and mythology.
An extraordinary dream, several years later, encouraged her to teach others what she had learned. This marked the beginning of her long-standing activities as an I Ching teacher, giving lectures and seminars in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Her inquisitive attitude and ever-open mind finally led Ms. Moog to move to the United States and join forces with Ms. Anthony, in 1998, and to help found The I Ching Institute in Stow, Massachusetts, where both women conduct seminars and new researches into the I Ching.
