On today's episode I have the pleasure and honor of speaking with beloved author Benebell Wen about her process and inspiration for writing her most recent book: I Ching the Oracle - A practical guide to The Book of Changes.
Benebell shares about the the spirit intelligence of the I Ching (as it differs from other tools for divination) as well as the creation myth that connects with the binary code of yin yang. She also talks about the distinction between the "broken" and unbroken lines that form the trigrams and 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.
I loved listening to her stories about how she intuitively worked with the I Ching as a mode of communication with ancestors (her grandmother) before confirming that this was a part of its shamanic origins all along.
In this playful conversation, Benebell shares a correspondence between the eight trigrams and the eight phases of the moon. This insight into the lunar phases serves as a reference for understanding the energetic qualities and polarities of the trigrams and their three lines of code as they relate to the lunar phases.
I am grateful for how she illustrates this correlation between Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Heaven, Lake and the 8 phases of the moon because when you are learning something new, it helps to have something familiar to connect with (like the moon).
This was so eye opening for me - and I hope it helps create new neural pathways for you as well!
We also touch on the lunisolar calendar and timekeeping as it relates to cycles. She shares about the specific hexagram that corresponds with this year of the Wood Dragon, and speaks a little bit about the qualities of that particular hexagram and what that may foretell about the energy of the year.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of a vast subject, so I invite you to receive the generosity of all that Benebell shares through her work.
If you love this conversation and want to support this podcast, please leave a 5 star review - thank you!
Links:
Benebell's Website:
https://benebellwen.com/
Free Companion Course for I Ching the Oracle: https://benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/a-companion-course/
I Ching and the 60-Year Lunar-Solar Calendar Cycle
Post about how 2024 corresponds with hexagram 43 when you superimpose the lunar-solar calendar over the I Ching https://benebellwen.com/2024/01/05/i-ching-and-the-60-year-lunar-solar-calendar-cycle/
Asian Wheel of the Year: Lunisolar Astrology: https://benebellwen.com/2022/10/28/asian-wheel-of-the-year-the-lunisolar-agricultural-calendar/
Website. http://www.benebellwen.com
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/c/BenebellWen
Twitter. https://twitter.com/benebellwen
Instagram. http://www.instagram.com/bellwen
Chocolate Dragon Cafe (in Oakland - not Berkeley like I say in the episode): https://www.chocolatedragoncafe.com/
Book: The dragon : nature of spirit, spirit of nature / Francis Huxley
THE MOON IS MY CALENDAR
2024 Moon Calendars available in the shop https://themoonismycalendar.com/
17. Unbroken: I Ching and Cycles of Change with Benebell Wen