The "I Ching" or "Book of Changes" originated in China at least 5000 years ago, and like most ancient wisdoms was passed orally down the generations.  It is reputed to have first been written down in 1123 BC by King Wen and his son the Duke of Chou. Confucius later added further commentaries.

Brought to the West in the Victorian age, the I Ching wrongly acquired a reputation as a book of fortune-telling, but in the mid 20th century became popular again for what it truly is: a book of wisdom and guidance to help and caution those who consulted it.  It directs us to deeper levels of consciousness, reaching to and prompting our innate skills and knowledge: it tells us what needs to happen and what we should do in any set of circumstances in order to change for the better.  The great psychologist C G Jung championed its use, and wrote the foreword to one of the best known translations of  the book ("I Ching or Book Of Changes", by Richard Wilhelm, published by Routledge & Kegan Paul).  In my paintings I have drawn upon the imagery of Wilhelm's text.

The I Ching consists of 64 hexagrams, figures of six lines of different combinations. The lines are either 'broken' or 'unbroken', representing the opposing forces of Yin and Yang.  Each of the 64 hexagrams has a number and a name. Traditionally, yarrow straws are drawn at random to determine which hexagram and which types of lines are relevant to whatever problem or question is at the forefront of your mind. Answers can be found from the interpretation of the hexagram.

If you want to find out more about the I Ching, you will find many links and resources on the internet. A good place to start is http://pages.pacificcoast.net/~wh/Index.html.

The pages here show my pictorial interpretations of 28 of the 64 chapters, together with a brief explanation based on the Richard Wilhelm text. Click on a button below to see the picture. This will open in a new window, or maybe a new tab if you’re using a netbook or phone. To return to this page, just close the window or tab.

Have a look at the ‘Cards and prints’ tab if you would like a copy of any of the paintings.