As someone that's shaken coins and flipped over cards in manic states, only to be led down fruitless trails in pursuit of fantastical gooses, I can tell you how easy it is to be deceived in your own divination.
There's that one Richard Feynman quote, that's quoted so often it almost becomes trite, but: "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
What follows is a process that, I hope, will keep you from floating from one reading to another, interpreting everything as your impending fulfilled dream (from someone that's been down that path).
There's some overlap here with Strategic Divination, and its addendum, but there's a lot of new things related to how I think about divination now, compared to 2020.
So, let's get into it.
Using Dependable Sources
The greatest resource in divination would be journals you keep on every reading, so you can look back and say 'when I get this line/hexagram/Tarot card x happens'.
But, I know, not many of you will be as crazy as I have been in my lifetime about divinatory record keeping. So, in that case: try to use solid sources for your interpretations.
Until I write a book of my own I Ching interpretations, try Bradford Hatcher's, which is free.
My version of the James Legge translation (with my personal titles for the Hexagrams) is also a good place to look for I Ching readings.
For Tarot, Bradford Hatcher's free resource is pretty good (and I also like the I Ching hexagram associations he has for each card, which I often find to be on point).
My Tarot According To The I Ching post should also be of some help.
Lastly, this piece I wrote will give you insight about one line from each of the 64 Hexagram.
How To Ask Questions To Avoid Deceiving Yourself
The simple thing to do here is ask specific questions that are only one question.
Asking 'will I accomplish ___' is a good question.
Don't ask two questions (or more) in one question. Ask multiple individual questions.
But be forewarned that multiple questions about the same subject can devolve into you dancing in circles with yourself, burying your brain beneath a whole lot of shit to interpret.
The question that may be best for your mental health (it often is for me) is one I picked up from Enrique Enriquez: 'what is the best I can do with ____'.
With that, you're a bit shielded from the cold-hearted truth, and shielded from thinking you have more agency than you do in a particular situation.
It's the kind of question you'd probably want your best friend to get a reading with. So, why not use it for yourself?
Executing The Reading To Give Yourself A Bit of A Guiding Light
If you get a changing line in an I Ching reading, you essentially get a context meaning in the relating hexagram (If you're really lost with the terminology, check my (I know, it's lengthy) 'Strategic Divination' post and just ctrl+f for "relating hexagram).
For example: 45 > 13 would be Safeguarding's Window of Opportunity (The Context), if you're taking into account just the titles of the two hexagrams for the time being.
If you're doing a Tarot reading you can pull one card, or you can pull three, and then one for the context.
I personally find it helpful to see what the background of the answer is.
The wall upon which the other parts of the answer sit. Or, put another way, the glasses through which you can see the other parts of the answer.
Interpreting Your Reading With Sober Eyes
With this step, you want to look at the parts for what they actually are.
Let's get into what that means:
For an unchanging I Ching reading:
You only have one hexagram to think about. If you ask 'will I gain money from this' and get 41 uc (Reduction) or 60 uc (Restriction), accept those meanings for what they are.
It's not always so direct, and clear-cut, but when it is, don't try to out-clever yourself with it.
For an I Ching reading with a changing line, or changing lines:
What is the primary hexagrams meaning, the relating/context hexagram's meaning, and the line(s) meaning.
If you ask 'will I gain money from this' and get 42 (Increase) > 19 (Taking Charge) - 42.2 > 42.5 > 61.5 > 42.6 > 41.6 > 19 - I can tell you that based on those parts (and what I know of those lines' meanings) I'd lean towards saying 'yes' to this question.
If there's a hint of confusion or contradiction, that alone is a sign that you should slow down on thinking something is certain, and take it as a cue to look at it more soberly.
For Tarot:
What is the Tarot card's suit meaning (Cups - Emotions, Coins - The Material, Swords - Thoughts, Batons - Work), and what is the individual card's meaning.
Writing Out What You Think The Reading Means In The Context of Your Question
Actually write it out.
I want you to look at what your thoughts are instead of allowing them to float from this to that possibility to satisfy your fantasies whenever the moment gives you the fuel to do so.
It's important to know what we think a reading means, so we can look at it against what the standard meanings, or translations, say.
Ex: If you get 42.3 in the I Ching for a question about salary at a job, you might write out that you think you'll get a gain that's a blessing mixed with a curse when it comes to how much you'll make, like a nice salary but an overwhelming work schedule. And if you look at it against a translation of the line (like the following James Legge translation):
The third SIX, divided, shows increase given to its subject by means of what is evil, so that he shall (be led to good), and be without blame. Let him be sincere and pursue the path of the Mean, (so shall he secure the recognition of the ruler, like) an officer who announces himself to his prince by the symbol of his rank.
It would be appear more likely than not that you'd actually be right in this instance.
The important thing to do is to *actually write* your interpretation. You need to be able to see it, and look your thoughts in the face.
And then be able to check them against a reputable interpretation or meaning. Does the context of hexagram 38 (Opposition) sound all that good when it comes to interpersonal relationships?
Does the story you're telling yourself about the reading conflict with what it means for most others?
Approaching your reading like that is a good way to stop deluding yourself.
The Question To Ask About Every Reading
This is basically 1B of the last step, but it's simple: Ask yourself what each part of your reading is *not* saying.
Ex: If you ask if you'll continue working somewhere and you get 1 > 33 (Potential's Withdrawal) - 1.1 > 1.2 > 44.2 > 33, that is not saying 32 > 14 (Continuance's Great Possession). With that first reading, I'd say you're going to leave that job, and the latter would indicate being stuck with it.
To further expand this:
Hexagram 41 is not saying 'increase.'
Hexagram 6 is not saying 'peace.'
Hexagram 52 is not saying 'movement'.
This gets more complicated when you have two hexagrams and multiple lines present (or multiple Tarot cards). Especially when the hexagrams, lines, or cards are contradictory.
But that's life when you're trying to practice divination.
Perspective To Avoid Being Deceived By Your Hopes And Dreams
If you know what steps to take to avoid deceiving yourself in your interpretation, here's some things to understand about a generally healthy outlook or approach:
1) Know That You’ll Know Only Enough To Avoid Foiling The Plans Of The Stars
Understand that you'll only ever know as much as you need to to avoid foiling the plans of whoever, or whatever, dictates our reality.
The story of Oedipus sticks around in society for a reason. If you were going to be able to stop every catastrophe, you would have stopped every catastrophe.
Don't be like an old version of myself and think that you're so persistent that you'll be able to stop how reality works.
2) Be Open To Having Your Dreams Crushed
Remember that most of the things you daydream about won't happen, and apply that wisdom to your reading.
Either they won't happen at all, or (more rare) they happen and they're not what you expected.
Not many of us want a reading to tell us that nothing will happen, but our imaginations overactive, and reality is underactive when imagination is the primary causal force.
To say this in another way: action makes changes to reality more than our imagination will. And often the I Ching tells us that inaction is the better choice in a given situation.
That's the nature of the Book of Changes, but I believe it's good advice: don't act just to act.
If you do as many readings as I have, you'll generate a lot of data that your brain will interpret as false positives.
You'll think that events and changes are in store for you, and soon, at that.
But more often than not, you'll be face-to-face with "uneventful."
Think about the most eventful weeks in your life, and think about how rare those moments actually are.
The stability we usually end up with amidst changing lines, hexagrams, and hopes and dreams should be seen as a gift.
If we're not putting in the effort to make the change happen, we need to accept that most changes reflected in our readings will be subtle.
So: work towards what you want, *and* be prepared for less "events" than you might want in this or that area of your life.
Final Thoughts
I wrote this piece to help some of you sidestep the situations that caused me some suffering since I started consulting the I Ching, Tarot, and my own personal oracle.
The less readings you do about a situation, the better off you'll be (trust me). I'm almost writing that last sentence to remind myself.
When you're buried beneath data and information, it's the easiest way to remind yourself that you're a human, and not a machine.
We're not made to sift through dozens of readings about our deepest motivations and come out un-drunk.
"Too much" skews our perception, especially when emotions are involved.
So, please, use these tools and frameworks to avoid information overload, and getting your hopes up to the point that you don't take any action (Hexagram 57.6 represents this one).
By approaching divination in a *healthy* way, you can get the benefits with the freedom to still take the necessary actions to make change happen for yourself.
The Book of Changes is, and will continue to be, a book about the changes humans experience. So, let yourself experience them instead of "thinking" about them.
It's more fun that way.