From Yarrow Stalks to Coins — What the History of Ancient Divination Tools Tells Us
You bought a bag of coins. Picking three out of it matters more than you think. And less than you think.
The Coin Method uses three coins. Six throws. Each throw: look at the heads and tails. Three heads = Old Yang (changing line). Three tails = Old Yin (changing line). Two heads one tail = Young Yang (static line). Two tails one head = Young Yin (static line). Jing Fang standardized this method in the Han Dynasty. It has not changed in two thousand years. But the coins have changed. Ancient coins were circulating currency — handled by countless hands, carrying the energy of the marketplace. Modern coins fall into three categories: genuine ancient bronze coins (Kaiyuan Tongbao, Wuzhu — excavated from tombs or handed down through generations), newly minted reproduction coins (craft items, mass-produced), and everyday modern coins (RMB dimes, fifty-cent pieces, one-yuan coins). All three types work for divination. Because the core of the Coin Method is random throws producing yin and yang — fundamentally, anything with two distinct sides works. Coins work. Buttons work. Seashells work. But coins are more than just a tool — they are part of your ritual. The coins you choose will sit in your palm every time you cast. Their weight, texture, temperature — these affect your state without you noticing.
Three choices in one sentence: seek ritual depth and historical resonance → ancient bronze coins (Kaiyuan Tongbao is best; genuine pieces are harder and harder to find). Seek a clean start without borrowing external force → new reproduction coins (thirty yuan on Taobao for three; lasts a lifetime). Seek anywhere-anytime convenience without overthinking → modern coins (RMB fifty-cent pieces have the best size; character side = yang, flower side = yin). None of the three is wrong. The one you agonize over the least is the one that suits you best. If you spend more time picking coins than casting with them — stop now. Pick the one that bothers you least. Start casting.
Three Core Standards for Choosing Your Coins
- How deeply you believe in the energy of a tool — this determines whether you should choose ancient coins. If you believe that something used for a long time, passed through many hands, accumulated over long history — carries a kind of field, then choose ancient coins. Kaiyuan Tongbao circulated in Tang Dynasty markets — a single coin may have passed through the hands of merchants, farmers, soldiers. Thirteen hundred years of historical sedimentation. It is not fake energy. It is real psychological suggestion. When you hold it, you feel connected to thirteen hundred years of tradition. That sense of connection helps your divination state. On the other hand — if you feel that coins touched by ancient people might carry chaotic magnetic fields, or that tomb-excavated coins are unclean — do not touch ancient coins. Your suspicion will cancel out any historical energy. Ancient coins are only good for people who believe they are good. If you do not believe — it is just a rusty piece of metal.
- Real or fake — the biggest barrier for ancient coins is not price; it is authenticity. Genuine Kaiyuan Tongbao market price ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand yuan. A nine-yuan-free-shipping Kaiyuan Tongbao on Taobao is ninety-nine percent fake. Using a fake for divination — the effect is identical to using a new reproduction coin. You spent hundreds on a fake — what you lost is not money. It is your trust in it. You thought it was an ancient coin. It was pressed out last week. The historical energy you believed was boosting you never existed. How to judge authenticity: genuine pieces have patina (a warm, uneven luster from long-term oxidation). Fakes have uniform, dead color. Genuine pieces have irregular edge wear. Fakes have sharp, even edges. Simplest approach: do not judge yourself. Find a reputable coin collector to help you pick. Or give up on ancient coins entirely — choose new reproduction coins and skip the authenticity headache.
- Your relationship with the coins — the final selection criterion. Ancient coins are inheritance — you receive the energy of hands that came before. New reproduction coins are a fresh beginning — you start with a clean tool and pour your own divination record into it. Modern coins are a downgrade in formality — you turn divination from a special ritual into an everyday act, using the same kind of tool for casting as for buying a bottle of water. No hierarchy among these three relationships. Ask yourself: what role do you want divination to play in your life? Ancient coin person — divination is something that needs a dedicated state. Reproduction coin person — divination is something taken seriously but without heavy historical baggage. Modern coin person — divination is something that blends into daily life anytime. Your answer determines your tool.
Common Breakers
- Spending big money on ancient coins and then doubting their authenticity. You spent three thousand yuan on three Kaiyuan Tongbao. They sit on your desk. Every time you pick them up to cast, your brain is running: are these real or fake? If they are fake — the foundation of every casting you do is a lie. The more you rely on them, the heavier the lie becomes. If they are real — you still cannot rest easy, because you cannot prove it. So spending big money on ancient coins of uncertain authenticity is the worst strategy. Either spend small money on new reproduction coins (clearly new, no authenticity pressure). Or spend enough time to find a reliable channel, buy coins with traceable provenance — and only after seeing them yourself, you believe. The middle ground — expensive but uncertain — is the most torturous.
- Treating coins as sacred objects that must be chosen perfectly. Coins are not sacred objects. Three coins are a tool — a converter that turns the question in your hand into six lines of yin and yang. Tool precision matters, but not as much as you think. A hexagram cast with fifty-cent coins and one cast with Kaiyuan Tongbao — the randomness of the hexagram does not shift dramatically with the tool. The changing lines will appear. The transformed hexagram will appear. The difference is in your mental state during casting. With Kaiyuan Tongbao, you are more likely to be serious. With fifty-cent coins, you are more likely to be casual. The tool affects your attitude, not the hexagram's accuracy. Understand this, and you can release the attachment around tool selection. Pick something that looks right to your eye. Do not chase perfection.
- Frequently switching tools — ancient coins today, tomorrow they smell too rusty so switch to new ones, day after new ones are too shiny so switch to modern coins. A divination tool is an anchor. Every time you pick up the same set of tools, it triggers divination mode in your brain. Frequent switching equals frequent anchor-switching. You are building new conditioned responses each time. Before the response solidifies, you switch again. The result — every time you cast, you spend extra energy adapting to the new tool's feel and look. That eats your precious attention. Pick one set. Use it for at least a month. Do not switch during that month. After a month — you will have muscle memory and psychological anchoring with this tool set. Then decide whether to switch. If you switch, switch only once. Three sets is the max I can accept: one on your desk (daily use), one in your bag (portable), one spare (no heartbreak if lost). More than three and it is chaos.
Coin Selection and Its Nuances Across Career, Love, Personality, and Health Divination Scenarios
Career & Wealth
For career divination, coin selection depends on your profession. If you are in finance, investment, or sales — you deal with money all day. Use modern coins (RMB one-yuan). You are soaked in the energy of money all day. Using the same category of tool to shift into divination mode — lowest switching cost. Office lunch break, want to test how the afternoon meeting will go — pull three coins from your drawer, six throws, result. If you are in creative, academic, or technical fields — you are more distant from money. Use ancient coins or new reproduction coins. Create differentiation between your divination tool and your daily work tool. Differentiation helps you switch modes. A doctor takes off the white coat after work — the white coat represents work mode. You set down the keyboard and pick up the coins — the coins represent divination mode. If you are an entrepreneur or freelancer — the boundary between your work state and divination state is already blurry. Use new reproduction coins — between daily and ritual, neither heavy nor light. Same logic for wealth divination: asking about a major investment → lean toward heavier ritual (ancient or reproduction coins). Asking about daily spending → lean lighter (modern coins). The weight of money syncs with the weight of the tool.
Love & Relationship
For relationship divination, coin selection has one extra consideration: are you willing to let the other person touch your coins? If you see divination as a private, personal act — the coins are your personal items. Do not let others touch them. Choose a dedicated set of ancient or reproduction coins. Keep them where others cannot see them. Your relationship divinations often involve your most private thoughts — the tool should be private too. If you are open to making divination a shared activity — for example, you and your partner cast together to read the direction of the relationship — use modern coins. The other person will not feel pressured. If you pull out a set of ancient bronze coins, they might think this is so formal, are we doing a ritual? Modern coins dissolve the tension — let's toss a few coins together for fun. Light tool = light atmosphere = the other person cooperates more easily. The accuracy of relationship hexagrams depends on your emotional temperature — too hot and you cannot read accurately. A light tool helps cool you down.
Personality
Your choice of coin type exposes your relationship with the past — a psychological tendency you may not have noticed yourself. Ancient coin people: you believe the past holds power. You tend to look back — seeking answers in history, experience, and ancestral wisdom. Strength: unlikely to repeat others' mistakes. Weakness: may lose your own judgment in front of the authority of the past. Reproduction coin people: you like a clean starting point. You respect tradition but do not depend on it. Balanced strengths and weaknesses — you position yourself between ancestral wisdom and your own intuition. Modern coin people: you do not fetishize form. You believe the core of divination is the attention of that single moment — the tool does not matter. Strength: minimalism, strong action drive. Weakness: occasionally overlook how ritual helps focus. None of the three is better or worse. But you can use your choice in reverse to adjust your tendencies. Your normal personality is conservative, decision-making relies on experience → try modern coins — force yourself to let go of attachment to tool form. Your normal personality is too casual, lacks ritual → try ancient coins — let the tool build a ritual anchor for you.
Health
For health divination, coin selection depends on how your body reacts to metal. Ancient coins are bronze or brass — buried in soil or circulated for ages, surface carries oxides. Hold a copper-green coin for half an hour — your fingers may carry a metallic smell. If you are sensitive to metallic smells — do not use ancient coins. The smell will distract you. New reproduction coins are usually copper alloy — surface treated, smell is much lighter. Modern coins are stainless steel or aluminum-magnesium alloy — essentially odorless. Also — coin size affects hand micro-circulation. Ancient and reproduction coins are typically 25-30mm diameter — three coins in hand have a certain weight presence. Modern dime coins are too small (19mm) — no feel in hand. Fifty-cent coins are about 20.5mm — usable but on the light side. One-yuan coins are about 25mm — best size and feel. Feel and weight affect how well your body settles during divination. Too light and you feel nothing — you are holding air. Too heavy — your attention shifts to the weight in your hand instead of the question. Optimal weight: three coins totaling about 15-25 grams. Three fifty-cent coins ≈ 10g (light side). Three one-yuan coins ≈ 18g (just right). Three ancient coins ≈ 20-25g (just right, slightly heavy). Judge by feel. Go to the kitchen. Grab a kitchen scale. Weigh the coins you have at hand. Pick the most comfortable in the 15-25g range. Nobody writes this advice — but everyone who has used coins knows: there is an invisible line between feel and accuracy.
What the Ancients Thought About Turtle Shells, Yarrow Stalks, and Bronze Coins — From Zhouli to Zhu Xi
Three Coin Selection Logics — Your Situation and Your Choice
- Ancient Coin Selection Guide — If You Must Choose Ancient Coins: Kaiyuan Tongbao (Tang) — best choice. Long circulation period (used from Tang through Song), good bronze quality, moderate size (diameter ~25mm), clear calligraphy (written by Ouyang Xun). Wuzhu coin (Han) — second choice. Oldest history, but slightly smaller (~23mm), some excavated pieces have poor bronze quality (brittle). Daoguang Tongbao / Guangxu Tongbao (Qing) — third choice. Recent era, many genuine pieces, low price. But Qing Dynasty coin bronze quality is inferior to Tang coins, and the era is closer — historical energy is not as thick as Kaiyuan Tongbao. Pitfalls to avoid: stay away from Great Five Emperor Coins or Small Five Emperor Coins sets — those are feng shui items, not divination items. Feng shui coins may have been consecrated or treated — the energy they bring in is unclear to you. Also avoid heavily corroded excavated coins — copper green is toxic, skin contact carries risk. Best strategy: find a handed-down Kaiyuan Tongbao (never buried, always circulated between hands). Handed-down pieces have warm patina, good feel, safe. One handed-down Kaiyuan Tongbao costs between three hundred and one thousand yuan. Do not think it is expensive — you use these for a lifetime. Three coins, three thousand yuan. Ten yuan per year.
- New Reproduction Coin Selection Guide — The Value King of Clean Starts: Search Taobao for divination coins or Zhouyi coins. Thirty to fifty yuan for three. Choose brass material — brass has a warm luster, darkens with oxidation but does not grow green rust. Do not choose alloy-plated copper — once the plating wears off, gray iron is underneath, feel is ruined. Size: pick 25mm diameter — matches Kaiyuan Tongbao, continuing the feel of tradition. Font: pick clear lettering — some reproductions have blurry characters, especially the Tong and Bao characters, which become unreadable after wear. Avoid consecrated coins — you are buying for divination, not for house protection. A divination tool does not need someone else to consecrate it — use it long enough and it naturally carries your light. First thing when new coins arrive: soak in warm water with a pinch of salt for half an hour — removes factory oil and fingerprints. Dry them. Hold them in your palm for five minutes — let them absorb your body temperature. While holding, silently say: from today, you are my divination tool. We begin. No complex ritual needed — warming them is the ritual. After a year of use — the surface will have oxidation marks from your fingerprints. The edges will be polished bright from your touch. That is your patina. Your own patina is more useful to you than Kaiyuan Tongbao's historical patina — because inside it is the energy record of one year spent together.
- Modern Coin Selection Guide — Convenient to the Point of Casual, But Not Casual: RMB fifty-cent coins — moderate size (20.5mm), golden color, attractive, rounded. Downside: on the light side (three coins ≈ 10g), not enough weight in hand. One-yuan coins — perfect size (25mm), good weight (three coins ≈ 18g), silver-white, clean. Same diameter as Kaiyuan Tongbao — continuity of feel. Yin-yang face definition for fifty-cent and one-yuan: character side (the side with People's Bank of China text) = yang side. Flower side (the side with flowers or pattern) = yin side. Fix this definition. Use the same rule every time. Do not do character = yang today and flower = yang tomorrow. Scramble the yin-yang rule — your hexagram changes. Foreign coins — if you are not in China or do not like RMB. US Quarter (25 cents): best size and feel. Euro 1 Euro: also close to Kaiyuan Tongbao diameter. Coins of any country — the denomination side = yang side, the design side = yin side. Rule is unified. The biggest advantage of modern coins — you can have three sets. One on your desk at home. One tossed in your bag, portable. One in your office drawer. Three sets, same denomination, same currency — guarantees identical feel. This is a convenience ancient coins cannot give you.
Common Dilemmas in Coin Selection
Q:Do the three coins have to be identical?
A:
In principle, yes. Three coins of the same type — each coin has the same probability on each throw. Three coins of different years or types — weights differ, heavier coins have different landing tendencies, probabilities shift. Even though this deviation is tiny — if it bothers you during casting, use three identical ones. If you never noticed or worried about this — mixing is fine. The point is not whether they are identical. It is whether the difference distracts you. Distraction = problem. No distraction = no problem.
Q:Lost or damaged a coin — replace the whole set?
A:
Lost one — if these are ancient or reproduction coins and you have attachment to the set, replace with one of the same type. When casting, tell yourself: one replaced, today it joins. No grand handover ceremony needed — three castings of break-in period is enough. Lost two — replace the whole set. Do not cling. Your energy has scattered. Replacing one might still be fixable. Replacing two or three turns it into a different tool entirely. Lost the whole set — this is the hardest. Treat this event as a hexagram in itself: the tool disappeared when you needed it most. Reflect: have you been ignoring your intuition lately? A lost tool is sometimes not a bad thing — it is reminding you to start fresh.
Q:Can I use a digital Coin Method — a phone app that tosses coins?
A:
Yes. But one condition: you must treat the app's random algorithm as true randomness. If your mind keeps thinking this is computer-generated pseudo-random, not real randomness — then every hexagram you cast sits on a foundation of distrust. That distrust will seep into your interpretation. If you can let go of that thought — the app's random number generator produces yin-yang distributions with no essential difference from physical throws. The biggest advantage of an app: anywhere, anytime, one-minute results. The biggest disadvantage: no tactile sensation. You lose the tens of seconds of holding coins — your state-entry time. Touch is one of the fastest channels for the brain to enter focused attention. The app skips touch. Replace those tens of seconds of holding with one minute of deep breathing on your own.
Q:Do coins need to be consecrated or cleansed before use?
A:
No. Coins are not ritual implements. They do not need empowerment. What they need is your familiarity. The more familiar you are with them — the time they lie in your palm before being thrown, the number of bounces when they hit the table, the sound of them settling — these signals together help your brain locate now we are in divination mode. Familiarity builds through use, not through ritual. You perform an elaborate cleansing ritual — afterwards, the coins are still strangers to you. Start using them directly. The first time, throw two waste rounds — not testing real questions, just familiarizing with the feel. Two waste rounds later, your relationship with them is deeper than any cleansing ritual could produce.
Q:Why three coins — can I use one or six?
A:
Three is the standard Jing Fang set. Why three — because three coins thrown simultaneously, looking at the heads-tails combination, produces exactly four possibilities: three yang (Old Yang), three yin (Old Yin), two yang one yin (Young Yang), two yin one yang (Young Yin). Four possibilities map to the four line types: Old Yang and Young Yin are both yang lines (—), but Old Yang moves and transforms into yin. Old Yin and Young Yang are both yin lines (- -), but Old Yin moves and transforms into yang. One coin produces only two outcomes — not enough to distinguish changing from static lines. Six coins thrown once — can produce six lines in one go. But no layered randomness — one throw determines everything. Information density is lower than six independent throws. Three coins, six throws is the optimal solution filtered through history: simple operation, independent randomness, clear changing/static distinction. Do not challenge it.