The I Ching Oracle: A 64-Card Illustrated Deck and Guidebook

This unique deck was created by Catherine Pilfrey and published by Shambhala Publications, a book publisher distributed by Penguin Random House. And it releases shortly on December 19, 2023. 

In this one of a kind, brand new oracle deck, the ancient wisdom of the I Ching is reimagined for today's modern world in this accessible 64-card deck, allowing you to quickly access your inner wisdom, thrive in the face of adversity and change, and make decisions with confidence. 

The I Ching, or the Book of Changes, is an ancient book of wisdom and guidance, rooted in Daoist and Confucian philosophy. For millennia, this ancient divinatory system has offered advice on how to live fully and in harmony while managing the constant changes that life presents. The I Ching, developed over three thousand years ago, is made up of 64 hexagrams—a combination of six straight and broken lines—that symbolically encompasses a multitude of life experiences. This relevant, fresh, and accessible deck reimagines the I Ching without archaic vocabulary and confusing, clunky metaphors. Just ask a question and then pull a card to access your intuitive voice and receive guidance on your best path forward. 

Greats like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Allen Ginsberg openly talked about consulting the I Ching for answers to questions on life, and it even served as inspiration for some of their work.

Traditionally for the I Ching, you would throw coins or yarrow sticks or count grains of rice to determine the six lines of the hexagram, which was a time consuming and difficult process, especially if you were new to that system. Then you'd consult a book on the I Ching to interpret the hexagram's message. These books were often very metaphorical and somewhat hard to understand. Catherine Pilfrey was inspired to create a deck with the wisdom of the I Ching, making it more accessible for people all over the world to enjoy it's profound guidance. 

Now you can just pull a card and quickly receive an answer to your question. No difficult translations to navigate or work out. It's a much faster process to tap into the same wisdom diviners have had access to for ages without all the time consuming steps. I posted a video at the bottom of this blog if you are interested in how to cast the coins to determine the hexagrams for the I Ching. 

I was so excited to receive this deck this month. I’ve long been intrigued by the I Ching but also intimidated by this system because it looked complicated to understand. But this oracle makes it SO accessible in a way that I can easily work with. I’m eager to work with this system now and to share it with you. Learning a new divinatory system is always exciting for me! And this one was simple to ease into now that Catherine created this practical and approachable deck that simplifies this process tremendously.

The I Ching Oracle contains 64 hexagram cards in a myriad of colors with unique patterns that the creator explains are inspired by Asian, African, Mayan, and Aboriginal motifs that communicate the energy of each hexagram. And there’s an accompanying 100-page color guidebook with detailed explanations and messages for each card. The deck also comes in a magnetic-closure box. I love those! 

The 64 cards each have a unique front and back. The back of the card reveals the hexagram in the gold rectangle as shown in the photo above. The elements present in the deck are also represented on the card backs in the areas outside of the golden rectangle. These 8 elements include heaven, thunder, water, mountain, earth, wind, fire, and lake. 

The front of the card visually embodies the essence of the hexagram through the unique color and the pattern that the creator designed for each card. See above photo for example. And each card front contains a simple message along with several short phrases to concisely convey the card's message. So if you just wanted a quick message for the day or to answer your question you could just take that as your answer without even cracking open the guidebook. Some days I only have time for a quick card pull, and I love that I can get an answer in seconds here.

But if you wanted more, turn to the description in the guidebook where you are provided a longer detailed message for more clarification on the card’s guidance (see above photo).  

This fresh take on an ancient divinatory tool, presents the I Ching as a contemporary guide and oracle, answering questions regarding relationships, career, family, goals, challenges, wellness, balance, and your life path. 

The creator says that the I Ching is a guide to access your inner wisdom and the wisdom of your ancestors and the universe when you have questions about what to do in your life. 

There are some unique card titles like biting through, overseeing, treading, the turning point, breaking point, increase, decrease, the well, splitting apart, great accumulation, and darkening of the light.

When I asked for guidance on my work path for the next year, I drew Oppression, Progress, and Creative Power.

Oppression reminded me that things have felt like a struggle lately and I'm feeling exhausted from it all but that there is hope as these obstacles won't last forever. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, the cards guided me to be true to myself, keep a positive mindset, and take the chance to evolve from all these opportunities for growth presented in the form of these obstacles. Keeping my long term goals in mind will help inspire me to make the progress needed to push through these difficult times.

The Progress card says easier times await where progress will come to me easily. I'm told to be clear in what I want, sort my priorities out, work with others on a shared mission for the greater good, and live according to my core values to ensure that this progress comes to fruition. Aligning myself with my best intentions will allow me to see a reward on my investments, time, and effort!

Creative Power says to be decisive, goal oriented, clear with my intentions, align with what is right for me and the greater good, and stick with my intentions and goals with tenacity and devotion. Using my energy to inspire others will be the best use of my time and will be something I can be extremely proud of. 

It was a very clear, practical reading that helped me see my way through a difficult phase on my path. Knowing brighter days lie ahead helped give me the optimism I needed to work through some frustration over some unexpected obstacles that arose halfway through this year that have persisted for several months now. 

The way Catherine presents this deck makes it easy for any reader of any level to work with this divinatory system that honestly is intimidating to a lot of readers. The guidebook provides practical and easily digestible guiding messages, and I’ve found the messages to be so clear and on point. They go straight to the heart of the matter for the questions I’ve been asking. 

It seems to me to be a very valuable tool for the following topics:

Navigating cycles of change

Determining the next direction to take

Advice for weathering adversity and obstacles

Goal setting

Identifying areas of focus for a project or new phase

Making informed decisions

Learning how to go with the flow and avoid resistance

Finding ways to build more harmony into your life

I’ve seen other I Ching books that contain complex language, confusing metaphors and rambling messages, which I’ve found hard to follow. So, this oracle is a breath of fresh air with this novel take on the I Ching, making it so approachable for all reading levels whether you are a beginner to divination or an advanced reader. 

I highly recommend it. This would be a great deck to pull a card daily from and to use in year ahead readings, weekly and monthly readings, life path readings and for work and wellness spreads. 

I'm wanting to pull back and simplify things in 2024 to live in better harmony to promote my own health and wellbeing, so I see myself reaching for this deck a lot in this next year to find ways to decrease just like this card suggest.

This oracle releases on December 19, 2023 

Purchase here using my Amazon affiliate link - it helps me out a little bit if you use my link at no cost to you.

About the Author

Catherine Pilfrey has been consulting the I Ching for the past 25 years and has been practicing meditation since she was a teenager. She is a meditation teacher who has taught at the Boston Shambhala Meditation Center and in various corporate settings, including Life is Good and Yesware in Boston. She teaches online at MindfulAware.com meditation community. She is also an art director, a graphic designer, a yogi, a home chef, and a health and nutrition coach. Learn more at moderniching.com   

FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 255, “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” I received the I Ching Oracle by Shambhala Publications for prospective review. Everything I’ve said here is sincere and accurately reflects my opinion of this deck.

If you are interested in learning more about casting coins for the I Ching, I've included a Youtube video showing how to cast coins to determine the hexagrams for readings with the I Ching below

Video showcasing the coin casting method for the I Ching

Podcast

And if you're interested in divination, check out my podcast, Healing Thru Tarot, where I teach how to use the tarot and other divinatory systems for healing, self-growth, and navigating stress and anxiety in a busy, modern world.

My Novels

Check out The Divining Sisters Series here.

If you're looking for a good witchy book, my fictional divination book series, The Divining Sisters, is perfect for this time of year! Start with book 1 in the series, The Call of the Cards, and then catch up to book 2, We Divine Three and book 3, The Threads of Fate, that just released in Sept. 2023. I'm writing the last in the series (book 4) now.

They're available as ebooks $4.99 and paperbacks $14.99 on Amazon. And the eBooks are also on Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Smash words, and more.

Find out more details on my novels on my author website author.heatherhardison.com - where I post updates on book releases, video book trailers, book blurbs and quotes, as well as fun things like my Spotify playlists for each book. I carefully curate those to express the energy of each book. 

This series follows a group of women (witches, healers, diviners) who reincarnate lifetime after lifetime and reunite with their coven so they can fulfill a mission of keeping their craft of divination, healing, and magic alive for future generations. 

Book Blurb for Book 1: The Call of the Cards 

Alexandra Steele, a clinical psychologist, stumbles upon a mystical store in downtown, Memphis, TN, where she encounters tarot cards for the first time. She doesn't realize it at the time, but this simple encounter will leave her life forever changed as she uncovers a world of past life connections to the cards and the craft of divination. This sparks an awakening that opens door after door of a long line of mystic and witch incarnations that run throughout her history. As she reconnects to these deep mystical ties, she begins to learn about her destiny, which is revealed as she starts to encounter coven sisters and foes from previous incarnations. Will her tendency to hide in the shadows and play small continue to hold her back or will the call of the cards lure her onto her destined path of a life full of magic and sisterhood?

Readers are raving about the series like these 5 star amazon reviews of The Call of the Cards and We Divine Three:

"Absolutely Unique! Resonated so much!" 

"Life-changing. I felt seen. I don't think I've had this experience with any other book."

“The metaphysical series I've been waiting for! I was hooked from the beginning and even found myself slowing down because I want it to last. The characters are so relatable and genuine, and the explanations of tarot readings and past life stories is spot on! I'm eagerly awaiting the next ones. Please please, Heather, keep writing.” 

Readers call it "Harry Potter for adults."

If you get a copy, please leave a book review on whatever platform you buy it on if you enjoy it. That really helps me out and can help get my book in front of more readers. And if you love it please also review it on goodreads.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see updates on the book releases there. I have 2 instagram accounts My tarot and podcast account - healingthrutarot My author account heatherhardisonauthor 

Watch the book trailer for The Divining Sisters Series

Time to order the 2024 Writual Tarot Planner

And it’s that time of year when we need to order another tarot journal. It's out now! I always order a new Writual Tarot Planner around this time. If you want one before the new year, remember you can use my writual discount code at checkout. Use my Writual ambassador link here along with my NEW discount code HEALING (all caps), which gets you 15% off your Writual purchases when you use that affiliate link and code. Writual has tarot stamps and stickers, dated and undated tarot journals and planners, including one for kids, tarot decks and tarot-themed mugs, candles, and jewelry so check them out using my link!

Healing Thru Tarot's Spread Ebook Line

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Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 1 - 15 custom spreads

Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 2- 15 9-card spreads

Shadow Work Spreads and Workbook - 20 spreads

* (Newest) Healing Thru Tarot’s Life Path and Life Purpose spread ebook includes 15 custom spreads I’ve created to help you identify and align with your life path and sail to success. Spreads like the life path alignment spread, lightwork path guidance spread, conquering obstacles on my path spread, advice from my future self-spread and karmic healing path spread will help you position yourself to step into your full power and achieve the purpose you incarnated to fulfill. Plus many more spreads offering guidance and advice to get on path and stay on track. $12

Click here to purchase any of these spread ebooks

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