Divination and Guidance
Why do I emphasise making divination tools easy to understand and use?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Tools are intended to help people understand situations. Learning a divination method without knowing or being able to explain what the result means makes practical use difficult. I value learning that leads to understanding and interpretation, then applying its reminders to the problem at hand.
I use I Ching hexagrams as a comparison: complex principles can be presented in a simpler form so people understand step by step. Chinese chess divination likewise begins with the definitions of fourteen kinds of pieces, then teaches how combinations correspond to the question.
So when making cards and organising books, I include reference text and directions for interpretation. Simplicity gives people a place to begin. Understanding and practice in combining and explaining the pieces remain necessary afterwards. Receiving a result while understanding nothing about it is not enough.