Within the classical tradition, two principal ways of consulting the Changes have come down through the ages: the older, more intricate yarrow-stalk procedure and the later, simplified coin method. The yarrow practice begins with fifty dried stalks, of which one is set aside and never used directly in the counting. The remaining forty-nine are repeatedly divided into two heaps, with a single stalk taken from the right-hand pile and held aside, and the rest of each heap reduced by counting off groups of four. The small remainders—always a few stalks—are gathered into the hand and removed from play, and the diminished bundle on the table becomes the starting point for the next operation. Three such operations generate a single line value, expressed numerically as 6, 7, 8, or 9, which corresponds to yin or yang, either changing or stable. This laborious rhythm of dividing, counting, and setting aside is repeated six times, building the hexagram from the bottom upward, and is often regarded as more meditative and subtle in its effect.

The coin method, while younger historically, has become the most common approach because of its simplicity and speed. It uses three similar coins, traditionally with distinct sides, each side associated with either yin or yang and given a numerical value, such as 2 for yin and 3 for yang. All three coins are cast together for each line, and the sum of their values again yields one of the four line types: 6, 7, 8, or 9, with 6 and 9 indicating changing lines and 7 and 8 indicating stable ones. As with the stalks, this casting is performed six times, and the hexagram is assembled from the first line at the bottom to the sixth line at the top. Practitioners often note that, although the outer gestures differ—slow, deliberate handling of stalks versus quick, almost playful movement of coins—both methods are understood to open a channel to the same symbolic patterning. The choice between them thus becomes part of the divination itself: a preference either for the contemplative, time-consuming ritual of the yarrow stalks or for the more direct, accessible clarity of the coins, each path leading to the same encounter with the text’s images and transformations.