While the tarot is one of our
favorite oracular devices and surely the one we have used for the longest in
our lives (over 60 years, yes, we’re that old), the oracle that we trust the
most, that we use daily and use whenever we encounter any serious difficulty or
have an important decision to make, is the I Ching (see our book The Elven Book of Changes: A Magical Interpretation of the I Ching)
Our sisters of the Elf Queen’s
Daughters taught us how to do the I Ching (as well as teaching us how to do
basic astrological charts and giving us the tools for doing so). We had done
the I Ching previously once or twice before we first met them, but we hadn’t
really known how to draw the oracle, except in the simplest of ways and didn’t
have any idea how to draw the individual lines that accompany each hexagram.
The Elf Queen’s Daughters used the
“Ching” regularly, as well. Every single day, every time we got together, and every
time we visited someone, we’d find a quiet place, first thing, often out in
nature somewhere, sit in a circle and do the Ching together, each elf drawing a
part of the oracle and then passing the sticks to the next person round the
circle until the oracle was done.
Alas, while these Silver Elves have
tried to teach other elves over the years how to use this oracle, most have
been very resistant to doing so. Some complained about the rather sexist and
chauvinist attitudes of some of the translations, which were for the most part
merely trying to accurately reflect ancient Chinese culture and which is also
why we created our own translation that uses non-gender pronouns and is geared
toward elven culture and magic. Other elves simply said that the system was too
complicated for them, although these were usually very intelligent folks and
complicated simply wasn’t a satisfactory explanation for their resistance.
However, we don’t strive to force people to do what they don’t wish. We,
ours’elves, find the I Ching to be the most reliable oracle that we know of,
but if others don’t see the value in using it, that is really their loss.
Perhaps they will discover it in a future life.
It is possible that some might feel
that being of Chinese origin that it is not elven enough, but there has always
been a rather Taoist aspect to the elves, although not Taoism as it has been
developed into a religion but Taoism as a philosophy of living in harmony with
Nature and of magic. It should be remembered that the I Ching comes from a
time, thousands of years ago, when the Chinese were not one people, but a
variety of tribes, often at odds with each other. Its origins are shamanic and
come from so far back in history that there is no real written record of its beginnings,
although we do know that it was most likely originally done using tortoise
shells and not yarrow sticks, which was a later development. And it is
important to note that Chinese culture has its myths and tales of faeries as do
most other cultures in the world. The idea that elves and faeries are a
strictly western, even Celtic invention, is simply not accurate.
So, beloveds, if you wish to learn
and use a truly great and accurate oracle, we highly recommend the I Ching.
Kyela,
The Silver Elves
"Fate is a line on the hand of Destiny."
—from Elf Quotes by The Silver Elves
The Elven Book of Changes: A Magical Interpretation of the I Ching is a magical interpretation of the I Ching or Book of Changes, and is for
magicians, elves, and magic wielders of all kinds. It is written without gender
bias and serves both as an Oracle and as a book of instruction to help the
magician find hir way through the maze of modern life, the mystical worlds of
spirit, and the magical realms of Faerie.
"If you ask the elves to look into the future, they will tell
you there is no future,
there is only nearly infinite possibility."
—The Silver Elves
there is only nearly infinite possibility."
—The Silver Elves
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