Hexagram 3 > 10
I understand why so many pick the Tarot over the I Ching.
There's medieval-tinged cards that echo the history of Europe, and thus, parts of life in modern America and Europe. In its present incarnation, it's an extremely Western oracle.
Plus, there's images that talk to your unconscious and conscious in excess (The Tower card, for example, has a way of striking a chord within us).
But I've always enjoyed reading. You see words, your mind creates images that may still not be possible with computer graphic technology, or at the least, creates images equally as well as those special effects factories.
The I Ching is a word-based oracle, despite the Hexagrams.
And, in my opinion, three types of people might enjoy the I Ching more than something like the Tarot: The extremely cautious, the lovers of language, and the coders and computer programmers of the world.
Let's get into what each of these types of people might find fun in the I Ching.
Why The Extremely Cautious Will Likely Enjoy The I Ching
If your past is full of trauma that causes you to do whatever you can to diverge from dangerous paths, the I Ching is definitely for you.
The I Ching is a cautious oracle.
Its advice is often geared to steering you in heedful directions. Into actions that follow the 'middle way', sidestepping excess, and being vigilant about those excesses when you have no choice.
In this respect, it's not the most American of oracles, and it shouldn't be: it's unbreakably tied to China and Chinese culture.
And in my opinion, for a culture like America's that's so manic and consumptive, many of us would benefit from the cool breath of fresh air emanating from the I Ching.
Why Lovers of Language Will Likely Enjoy The I Ching
There are many, many translations of the I Ching.
Some are lackluster when it comes to their practical applications, but there are a handful I return to the most:
While I've written about how your experience with the I Ching is more important than anything else, translations do serve a purpose.
By seeing yourself in 3000 year old characters, you become infused with the poetic, tied together with the history of everyone else that embodied the person that met a "master" in a street (38.2), or dealt with deuling dragons (2.6).
Besides that, some of these translations are beautiful on their own. If you're a student of the Chinese language, or of historical texts, there will likely be elements that I can't perceive that you'd pick up on as you interacted with the Book of Changes.
But even without being a student of those things, about all of us can see ourselves in each line, even if we didn't get it in a reading. These are seemingly universal experiences that humans have dealt with for thousands of years, and sometimes simply knowing that others have been through the same thing can embolden us on our path.
Why Computer Programmers Will Likely Enjoy The I Ching
One of the objections I've personally heard about the I Ching is that it's "too much like math." Which is funny, considering that was always my least favorite, and least successful subject in school.
But it's true that numbers play a major role here: There's 64 hexagrams with 6 lines in each one.
The combinations are mind-boggling (especially if you utilize transitional lines), and if you're trying to do readings by hand for the first time, it can be intimidating.
But coders and computer programmers work with numbers every day. And mathematically-inclined minds may find excitement in the complexity (much like Terrence McKenna once did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna).
When you do an I Ching reading, in a way, it's spitting back human code at you. Either inputs you should follow, or descriptions of 'what is' that stands in front of you.
With 64 hexagrams and 384 possible lines, compared to 78 Tarot cards, it could end up becoming the oracle you devote your life to exploring (much like I've seemed to have done).