2 classes / 7 hours total
Montréal, QC
Date TBD (late April / early May)

8 students maximum
 

Intro:
The I Ching/Yi Jing, or “Book of Changes,” is a 3000-year-old book of divination; though its ideas evolved in earlier human practices of divining with bones (scapulomancy) and tortoise shells (plastromancy), which long predated the existence of the book, and which are practiced to this day.

This small-group workshop is for anyone who wishes to learn—through divination with the "Uncle Yi" --the I Ching or "book of changes"-- (think: the Chinese/eastern version of the west’s Tarot)—how to work with and create change in their lives in a creative, harmonious way, or to gain clarity and perspective on the flows, ebbs, and blockages that affect them.
You’ll leave the workshop able to shape your own questions and interface with the oracle and its rich imagery.

I personify “Uncle Yi” because my experience is very much that of interacting with another living, responsive being, which takes an interest in my life and my students’ lives and learnings. In spite of skepticism, consulting with Yi can be stimulating, grounding, psychologically provocative, and courage-giving for anyone, no matter their beliefs.

How the course works:

In the course, you will be introduced to “Uncle Yi” through theory and exercises, and through casting and interpreting readings of your own.
 

First you will be coached in developing a question—from “show me my relationship with alcohol/my dog/my partner?” to “what is the best way to be with this breakup?” to “give me a compliment, what am I at my best?” to “what if I get a cat?”

Then, you and other students will pose your questions to the oracle and interpret its answers:

• individually, in contact with the source text and with the teacher’s support

• and in the context of a gentle, creative group discussion
   

You will be guided on how to connect sincerely with the reading, and on how to avoid common pitfalls and difficulties, which may lead to delusion or confusion in your divination.

The course will include theatre games and physical movement to keep the body involved in the processing, and to connect intuitively and immediately with the imagery of the I Ching.

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Support with your readings, and integration into your life, will be available after the course, if needed.
 

Topics touched on:

The readings the students receive will to an extent determine which specific ideas, concepts, and techniques will be taught, but the course may include:

• History and lineage of I Ching divination

• How to cook up a mature and useful question

• How to cast a reading with three coins

• Basic structure of readings: primary and relating hexagrams, changing lines

• Symbolism of trigrams, and how to connect intuitively, physically, immediately with the reading’s imagery

• Strategies to work with readings with multiple (sometimes contradictory) lines

• Fan Yao, complementary, shadow, pair, sequence hexagrams

• How to digest a difficult, painful, or confrontational reading

• Bias, hope, fear: avoiding confusion in your divination

• Working with different translations

• The role of sacredness and ritual, and how to find your personal approach

• Keeping a journal with Yi

From the teacher:

I am an artist: playwright, puppeteer, clown, and dancer. I have been divining with Yi for thirteen years. For the past three, I have been deepening my relationship with the oracle through courses and personal study.

I have undertaken courses offered through Hilary Barrett and her longstanding online I Ching community, Online Clarity, and have begun conducting in-depth readings for clients.

Testimonials:

“Steve really knows his way round a reading! He's an imaginative, creative interpreter with a particular gift for helping people to connect with Yijing imagery.”
— Hilary Barrett, founder, www.onlinelarity.co.uk

“You have a serious knack for this. Your way of relating is extremely effective, and hard for people to learn. It's substantial.” -- Florence, Psychotherapist, Maine

“Caring and deeply intuitive readings… honoring the deep playful knowings of the I Ching while encouraging you to accept that everything is always in flux.” -- Adalia, Artist, Montreal

“Steve is a patient, caring and enthusiastic I Ching reader… guided through the experience and taken care of, while also left free to make up my own mind.” Sara, Actor/Director/Teacher, Italy