October 6, 2026 · By Sixseer Editorial

To cast coins for a Liu Yao reading, toss three coins six times, add each throw’s values, and record the lines from the bottom up. Totals of 6 and 9 mark changing lines. You do not need special coins or advanced intuition to begin: a focused question, a consistent convention, and an accurate record give the reading its foundation.

Before the first toss: make one question clear

Gather three matching coins, a flat surface, and something to write on. Choose distinguishable faces and assign them before casting. This guide uses heads = 3 and tails = 2. Other conventions exist; never switch halfway through a cast.

Imagine you are considering a creative collaboration. “Will my future be successful?” leaves too much open. “What should I understand before agreeing to this collaboration this month?” gives the reading a situation and a decision.

Loose threads gather into one thread beside a blank question card.
Name one situation and one decision before casting.

The four coin totals

Throw all three coins together and add their values. Yin is drawn as a broken line; yang as a solid line. Keep the number as well as the shape so you do not lose the moving-line information.

Coins Total Record Change
Three tails 6 Old yin: broken Becomes solid
One head, two tails 7 Young yang: solid Stable
Two heads, one tail 8 Young yin: broken Stable
Three heads 9 Old yang: solid Becomes broken

Sixseer is an online I Ching and Liu Yao divination tool combining focused questions, coin casting, and AI-assisted plain-language guidance. If you want to understand what follows the tosses, its beginner’s guide to Liu Yao introduces the chart’s roles, elements, and timing.

Cast, record, check: the six-throw routine

  1. Focus. Write the question once, including the situation and useful time frame.
  2. Cast. Toss three coins. Record the total as line 1, at the bottom.
  3. Build upward. Repeat five times, placing each new result above the previous one.
  4. Mark movement. Circle every 6 and 9. Keep 7 and 8 unchanged.
  5. Check. Confirm six recorded totals, then copy the figure and flip only the moving lines to form the relating hexagram.

The lowest three lines form the lower trigram; the highest three form the upper trigram. The Stanford hexagram reference explicitly describes these figures from bottom to top. Turning your notebook upside down changes the figure.

Blank recording cards rise alongside a growing plant and an ascending ribbon.
Record each throw immediately; build your six lines from the bottom up.

Try This Question in Sixseer

What should I understand before agreeing to this creative collaboration this month, and does the current timing support committing, clarifying expectations, or waiting?

Cast this focused collaboration question free.

After casting: what makes the chart Liu Yao?

The same coin method can support different I Ching approaches. Text-based readings emphasize judgments and line statements. Liu Yao adds a systematic chart using Na Jia assignments, elemental relationships, and the casting calendar. Neither approach requires dismissing the other.

Na Jia (nàjiǎ) assigns stems and branches according to fixed trigram rules. Branches carry elements; their animal associations are memory aids, not their full definition. Each hexagram also belongs to an eight-palace sequence.

The traditional six relatives (liùqīn) appear as five relationship labels. Compare each line’s element with the palace element:

Elemental relationship Chart role
Line generates palace Parents
Same element Siblings
Palace generates line Offspring
Palace controls line Wealth
Line controls palace Official/Ghost

These are symbolic roles whose relevance depends on the question. The traditional Huozhulin text is a source for these relationships, palace assignments, and Self/Response positions.

Shi marks the Self line; Ying marks the Response line, three positions away. Their interaction matters, but one supporting or controlling relationship is not the entire verdict. Assess both month and day, moving-line transformations, combinations, clashes, and void branches. A matching date alone cannot settle strength or timing.

Five everyday objects represent the elements beside a blank calendar.
Liu Yao interpretation brings elemental relationships together with month and day.

A worked construction example

This is a deliberately constructed teaching example, not an actual consultation or a forecast about the collaboration above. Suppose the six totals, in casting order, are 7, 6, 8, 7, 7, 9.

Position Total Original After change
6 — top 9 Solid, moving Broken
5 7 Solid Solid
4 7 Solid Solid
3 8 Broken Broken
2 6 Broken, moving Solid
1 — bottom 7 Solid Solid

The original is Heaven over Thunder: Hexagram 25, Wu Wang. Changing lines 2 and 6 produces Lake over Lake: Hexagram 58, Dui. Both structures can be checked against the Stanford reference above.

Hexagram 25 belongs to the Wood palace of Xun, with Self at line 4 and Response at line 1. Its original branches, bottom upward, are Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Xu. Their roles are Parents, Siblings, Wealth, Offspring, Official/Ghost, Wealth. A full reading still needs the casting month and day and transformed-line analysis; the name “Joyous” alone does not establish a favorable outcome.

Keep the reading connected to your question

Practical accuracy depends on question focus, consistent casting, correct construction, contextual interpretation, and comparison with the real situation. Sixseer’s ask–cast–reflect methodology keeps those stages together.

Begin with your decision, complete the casting sequence, then read the guidance for relationships, movement, timing, and direction. Record one action or observation. If explanations start multiplying, use interpreting without getting lost to return to the original question.

Beginner questions

Do I need traditional Chinese coins?

No. Three ordinary matching coins with distinguishable faces are enough. Fix their values first.

Does no moving line mean nothing will happen?

No. It means the cast contains no changing lines. The original chart and calendar relationships still require interpretation.

Should I cast again if I dislike the answer?

Pause and examine the existing reading. Our guide to when to ask again distinguishes new circumstances from repeated reassurance-seeking.

Can I begin online?

Yes. Begin your free Sixseer coin reading with one clear question and follow the guided casting process. Understanding the numbers makes every later explanation easier to follow.

Sources

Adapted from the supplied article with AI-assisted editing, source checking, and illustration. The worked cast is a teaching example, not a recorded consultation. No expert review is claimed.