It connects you to the Universe which reads your heart and reflects back to your mind your position in the world at the moment of asking your question. It is more like a weather forecast about what can soon happen, rather than a police report about something what has already happened. Understanding that fact, always put your question in specific time-frame. The shorter the time-frame – the more accurate answer you will get.

We are sure, you have heard this expression – “You get what you give”. Ability to ask right questions is at least 50% of your success here. Never ask “Yes-No” questions – you will never get a Yes-No answer – our world is not a black-and-white and I Ching is very clear about that. For example, never ask “Will I get promotion in my job” – you will get an insight about your general situation at your job and what important factors affect your current situation, but there will be no Yes-No answer from I Ching! Questions like “Will I get promotion in my job in the next 12 month” are slightly better – at least your question is time-framed now, but a time-frame is too long and after all - it is still Yes-No question. But you can re-phrase your question and ask instead – “What life has in store for me about my job promotion in the next 6 month?” Similarly, don’t ask – “If I do this and that will I get this and that back?” But you can ask – “If you I do this and that what can I expect in the next N weeks”.

Never ask the same question multiple times in consecutive casting session. You will get corrupted answers – your state of mind changes every time you cast, so the answer will be actually relegated to that state of you, not the original question you asked. As Mondo Secter very accurately explains in his book ([2], p.75): “When you ask a question over again, even if the words are changed or rearranged, you are really asking another very different question from the one written down or expressed. The real question the second time is: “I want to know why I doubt or do not (wish to) accept the original hexagram response to my inquiry””. If you are not certain that you can interpret answer, try to reflect on it and internalize what you heard from I Ching. Ask new question directly reflecting your concern. Or even better - give some time for dust to settle down – day or two, maybe week or even more will help to clear the “mind waters”. The longer the break, the better - your situation will move forward to more clear state. Then rephrase your question and ask again.

Everything in our lives is a function of time – timeless questions produce timeless answers. Always frame your questions into specific time interval, the shorter the time interval - the better. Six lines in hexagram are progressing in sequence, one by one, from the bottom line to the top one. Therefore, a duration of time the each line in hexagram representing is generally 1/6 of the whole time frame for your hexagram. We recommend to use a time frame which is a multiple of six – six days, six weeks or six month. While it is not strictly necessary, this time framing approach is aligned with a number of lines in hexagram and normally makes mapping I Ching’s answer to the time frame in your question much easier for you. For example, if as the answer to your question, you have received a hexagram with a moving 4th line, then the main change to happen during 4th time slot of your original question time frame. And I Ching explanation around 4th line in text for that hexagram will describe the situation you have to pay most attention. This line will be a culmination point of that hexagram reading for your whole question. If your question doesn’t have an explicit time frame it suggested you have a default time frame set for yourself. 3 month (12 weeks) or 6 months (24 weeks) considered to be good examples of it. Mondo Secter [2], p. 41 What specific default time frame to use in your casting? It is a question you have to ask to yourself. Try to find what works for you best – your mental and emotional speed of life, pace of your character, dynamics of society you live in – all these factors will affect your very own default time frame. Once you have selected that default time frame for yourself, try to reflect on it to make it a real default in your mind.