Before you cast: how to ask a question that helps
The same hexagram reads very differently for different questions. What is read is not the coins but your question, so what you ask matters more than how you cast.
Ask once, sincerely
The judgement of the hexagram Meng says: "At the first divination I tell; ask a second and a third time and it is a bother, and when it is a bother I do not tell." Ask the first time in earnest and there is a response; ask the same thing again and again and it is distrust. That holds today. Rather than casting until you are pleased, think through what you want to ask before you ask.
A simple way: write the question down, read it once, and ask yourself "is this really what I want to know?" Then decide whether to cast.
Three marks of a good question
First, open. "How should I meet this transfer?" gives more to read than "Is this transfer good or bad?"
Second, about yourself. What you can change is your choice, your attitude, your way of acting. "Does he like me?" gives nothing to read; "What do I really want from this relationship?" does.
Third, one matter at a time. Cram several things into one question and the words of the hexagram scatter.
Questions a hexagram cannot help with
Casting a hexagram does not foretell the future, does not judge life and death, and cannot be used to diagnose illness. If your body is unwell, please see a doctor; for important decisions about law or money, please talk to someone who knows.
If you are in a very hard moment, do not rely on a hexagram alone. In mainland China you can call the national mental-health hotline 12356, where someone will listen to you.
After the cast
Once you have the hexagram, you need not hurry to believe or disbelieve it. Copy down the words you read, keep the sentence that sounds most like you for a day or two, and see whether it finds an echo in life. Often the use of a hexagram is only to make you stop and look at your own question from another side.
If you like, you can also write the hexagram you read as a note and post it in the community, and talk with others about what each of you read.
Questions people ask
Can I ask on someone else's behalf?
We do not suggest it. A hexagram reads the situation of the person who asks; asking for someone else becomes guessing at their mind and gives nothing useful. You can ask "how should I act in the face of this?"
What if I do not know what to ask?
Ask about the one thing that weighs most on your mind lately: "What do I most need to see clearly now?" A question like that has no standard answer, and for that very reason there is something to read.
Is the more specific the better?
Be specific about one matter, not about one outcome. "How should I arrange talking with my family this month?" is much better than "Will he agree next week?"