学 · learn · 周易
Coins or yarrow stalks?
There are two classical ways to get six lines: throw three coins six times, or work through fifty yarrow stalks. They do the same job — and give slightly different odds.
蓍
Three coins
The common method: throw three coins, count the heads, repeat six times from the bottom line upward. It takes about a minute and needs nothing but three identical coins.
It is the method most readers use today, precisely because it fits into a real life.
Fifty yarrow stalks
The older method starts with fifty stalks, sets one aside, and divides the rest repeatedly — a long, deliberate procedure that takes ten or fifteen minutes per hexagram.
The slowness is the feature. You cannot rush it, and by the end you are usually a lot quieter than you were at the start.
They do not give identical odds
The yarrow method makes old yin and old yang (the moving lines) less likely than the coin method does. In practice: coins produce change more often, stalks produce stability more often.
Neither is wrong. Serious readers simply know what their method is biased toward.
And what YUBAO does
We use a number method: the characters of your own question supply the numbers, and they are turned into the six lines. It keeps the casting tied to what you actually asked, and it needs no tools.
Try it tonight
No coins and no stalks — let your own words be the numbers.
Cast from your questionQuestions people ask
Which method is more traditional?
The yarrow stalks are older, mentioned in the classical texts. The coin method is a later simplification that became the popular one.
Can I use any coins?
Yes. Three identical coins are enough. Traditionally Chinese coins with holes are used, but that is aesthetic, not functional.
Do I need fifty stalks?
No. And if you do want to try, many people use fifty sticks of any kind — the procedure is what matters, not the material.
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Last updated 2 November 2026
An ancient Chinese divination. If today is heavier than words, findahelpline.com lists real helplines near you.