The I Ching has been on my path in various phases of my life, but I really got hooked in 2018.
In my discovery of the I Ching, like anyone else who enters this realm, I came across various translations, each attaching more or less cryptic meaning to the oracles.
The variety of interpretations puzzled me greatly, I couldn't help but want answers from the Book of Changes, but the contradictions and somewhat esoteric interpretations weren't always helpful, even in feeding my reflexion.
As a linguist, I became more and more aware of the unreconcilable nature of the chinese language - which is essentially metaphorical -, with a straight western language equivalent - ie. functional semantics.
NOTE: I do not speak Chinese myself, and have no expertise in the matter, other than exposure to the diversity of translations.
With that in mind, I tried to access the spiritual core of the metaphores, and started to develop images and interpretations of my own, just to spare my energy in constantly having to re-check various meaning of hexagrams and lines with each new reading.
This became a lot of fun ! (and a lot of work!)
As I progressed, I came across many more reasons the interpretations vary so much...
The symbolic images are 3000 years old.
Making sense of them today needs deep academic knowledge that is not available to anyone but the few specialists.
Even with some level of intellectual understanding, the evocative meaning is lost and blurs the interpretation tremendously.
The Hexagrams each carry layered spiritual meaning.
The spiritual sensitivities and development of the interpretor, their belief system, will inevitably shed a specific light on the message of the hexagram.
Several manuscripts detailing the I Ching are available, offering various ways to arrange the sequence, discrepancies, and more or less detailed facets of hexagrams. The I Ching academia involves comparing various sources for a more comprehensive understanding of symbolism, identifying transcription errors, variation in view points...
And then there is the possibility that some interpretations were twisted by Oracle readers to suit willful seekers, but that's a conjecture.
These are the references I used to compare various translations... And eventually start creating the I Ching Remastered. This is by no means an exhaustive list or a quality statement. This is a due acknowledgment of work that has guided and inspired me.
Online Clarity - Hilary Barrett
This is what made me fall in love with the I Ching. I am eternally grateful for Hilary Barrett.
The Book of Changes: Yijing (I Ching) - Word By Word - Bradford Hatcher
Comprehensive reference exploring the language variations and beautiful metaphorical explainers of each line and hexagrams. Inspiring!
I Ching Translation - Richard Wilhelm
Early translation of the I Ching into English.
Eclectic Energies | I Ching - Ewald Berkers
Alternative interpretation and practical approach to the meaning of hexagrams.