How Divination Works
A Different Approach
Rather than emulate the traditional three coins method, iching.io uses a chaotically-trained neural network to generate your divination. Your image becomes the input for a complex dynamic system, with the result inheriting qualities from both image content and inner topology. This might be viewed as creating the conditions for a divination, rather than generating purely random numbers.The Process
Choose Your Image
Select or take a photo that resonates with your situation. The image serves as both input to the neural network, and as visual anchor for future reference. Any image will work, as the model processes spectral data, not semantic content. Your image is not shared or sent to generative LLMs.Focus on your Question
This part will be familiar to many I Ching users. You might wish to meditate while considering your question or situation, or write notes beforehand. Frame your question as a consultation, rather than a request for clairvoyance, which helps to arrive at a more practical and actionable answer. You can also attach a written question, which later becomes a journal entry attached to your divination result.Generate a Reading
When ready, tap the "Divinate" button. Your image will be processed and analyzed, then saved along with the resulting hexagram and written question. You'll then see your divination result—primary hexagram, moving lines, meaning summary, and insights—along with the option to attach further journal entries.Reflection
After divination, you can return at any time to attach further journal entries. This is helpful when consulting your written I Ching translations or other texts, or when discovering new insights through reflection. Your journal entries are also searchable, allowing you to "tag" divinations with keywords, or use iching.io as an external knowledge archive.On Moving Lines and State Transitions
Moving lines emerge from crossings in the model's continuous output. They represent instability or change, aspects of your situation which are in a state of transformation. Multiple moving lines suggest a complex, multi-dimensional transition, or a potentially more nuanced guidance. It can be useful to consider all of these possibilities, and reflect in journal entries.On Randomness and Meaning
Traditional I Ching divination uses yarrow stalks or coins, which are randomizing mechanisms, to generate hexagrams. This app replaces mechanical randomness with organic chaos from a neural system. The network doesn't "know" anything. Instead, it explores a higher-dimensional space which is seeded by your image.On Creativity
Over the years, the I Ching has been used for many purposes outside of divination. Examples include randomized music composition, narrative decision-making, generative art, even research in epistemology and cybernetics. This app has been designed to be open-ended and in support of these alternative use cases.