I Ching TCM Cards for students and TCM practitioners

[A link to place a print-on-demand order will appear here when available.]

As I was making the webapp, some things started sticking out but since my brain can't keep up with 64 hexagrams I made myself some flash cards to help my studies. This allowed me to group them together to test those thoughts out. Some didn't make it pass the sniff test, but a handful of others made me think twice and gave my mind wonderful morsels to chew on.

This whole exercise was definitely worth the time, and for times like these I wanted to have a set of cards on hand to work out any such thoughts in the future.

People, including me, may consult the I Ching when they are looking for guidance. The I Ching will never lead anyone astray, so you don't need to be worried about being punked by the I Ching or anything like that.

This I Ching TCM card set refrains from giving specific advice, instead I try to describe the essence of the situation at hand. For actual advice, I think it would be best to talk with a qualified consultant (either TCM or CM), or if you're curious, gather a few translations of the text and read the hexagram and line entries, there are tons of books and websites available.

These cards are meant to be study aids and summarise a possible TCM diagnosis, there won't be a clear marker to change jobs or get married in these cards. The general advice these cards give is usually to be patient, get advice from others, act with righteousness and dignity, etc.

I wasn't sure what information to include on the webapp, and now cards, because I am by no means an expert in I Ching. The final overarching thought is don't be wrong. The simplest interpretations are given that could be acceptable (even if not accepted) by a TCM or CM practitioner, and not lead a student astray. Depending on how long you have been using the webapp, you might have noticed I had a lot more details, possible diagnoses and a bunch of symptoms listed in the hexagram entry on the webapp, but it's impossible to list all the symptoms a person could be experiencing, and so slowly they got whittled out to the general information remaining. So, in cases of excess, the user is expected to know what could be in excess (heat, wind, dryness, etc), and in deficiency, the user is expected to know what could be deficient (qi, blood, yin, etc). Apart from some suggested acupuncture points, the information is the same as what's on the webapp.

I decided to include:

• A write-up describing the general essence of the situation, meant to describe the general type of issue a person is facing in health.

• An I Ching interpretation for TCM. I generally think of this for herbs. Note, only a very basic interpretation is given, there can be many many more.

• A Five Phase relationship and how it ***might*** be used in TCM, there can be many many many more presentations. I generally think of this for acupuncture. A few acupuncture points are selected.

• A description of possible emotions a person may be experiencing. They may not be aware they are feeling this but it usually makes a direct hit when discussing since the hexagram is derived from their pulse. From there, I explain how I am not a qualified therapist or counsellor and advise them that if they want to go further to seek out counselling. It helps because instead of spending hours and dollars in counselling getting to the crux of issue, it is identified right away and has strong links to the health issues they may be facing. Also, if I am aware that someone is not emotionally or mentally ready to take on TCM homework, I will make suggestions accordingly (i.e. ranging from massage these ear points for a few minutes a few times a day (easy, no push-back), to emphasizing dietary adjustments (they want to learn and are ready for these changes).

I hope these cards help you as much as they have helped me. They will be available at Make Playing Cards when ready. I'm planning on pricing them $20 above the printing and shipping costs (approx $35-$50), as I want to keep them reasonable but also be reasonable to me. All I know is the cards will be tarot-size, I can't comment on the card quality or finish yet. If you are local to Calgary and interested in a printing quantity discount let me know before the initial print (as soon as possible but hopefully by the end of summer). If there is a link to Make Playing Cards available at the top of this blog then my initial print has already been made. tammylee.drac@ gmail. com