Glossary for the Wanderers' I Ching
Consult the I Ching of the Wanderers online


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


A

Abysses
The aspect of the Earth that represents impossibility to act.
Examples: being in prison, sick, or to have great obstacle in the way.

Air
In this I Ching the air represents masculine qualities, Yang, ascending, concentrated, focused and of explosive energy. In the bigram of the Heavens it is the Gleam (the ray, the sudden light, the revelation). In the bigram of the Wanderer it is the Warrior-Man and in the bigram of the Earth it is the Wind. It is sudden, revealing and instant. It also has invasive, dominant and destructive qualities typical of the masculine pole.

Author
See Galaxio.

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B

Blocks, barriers
Blocks, barriers, or obstacles are defined in Wanderers as anything that impedes Nature's creative course. According to this definition, the meteorite that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs would not actually be a block for life in general, but human greed would be, since this catastrophe gave way to the evolution of life in another direction while greed can completely stop life. For example, exploitation of resources oblivious to the damage done to Nature.
When a person is for some reason restrained in his or her creative course of life, the cause of this can be found in some psychological or external matter. At the same time, external matters can be divided in to material (when it comes from the Earth) or energy (when it comes from the Heavens). Obviously, psychological blocks can only come from the Wanderer, that is, the consulter.
From this I Ching's point of view, the most important block that could exist isn't total unconsciousness but illusion - defined as the indistinguishable mix of truth and fiction - since, in the first there are unknown regenerative processes, while in the latter, the coexistence of truth and fiction makes all true creativity impossible.
Ignorance is the biggest of psychological blocks, and illusion can only make it worse. "There is nothing more dangerous than a lie disguised as truth", as the saying goes, and it is so true.
Blocks coming from the Earth, the Heavens or from Nature are not true blocks (as with a meteorite) but there are considered blocks when they come from Man or from phantoms. For example, being in prison is represented by the Abysses, while an unstable economic situation is represented by the Waters. When confusion predominates in a group of people it causes a negative charge in the atmosphere and this atmosphere in the Wanderers is symbolized by the Penumbras, a celestial block situation.

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C

Consultation
SUGGESTED RULES FOR CONSULTING THE MARTIAN VERSION
This version aims directly at quickly defining the present situation in the Heavens (energies), the Wanderer (the consulter) and the Earth (material conditions) in order to make a immediate decision about the action to be taken.
This is the golden rule for this version of the I Ching.
All question with words like "who?", or "when?" should be avoided since no appropriate answer will be given for them.
The right questions are, for example, "About the actual situation at work", "About my trip", "How should I confront So-and-so?" or "A thought for today".
That is to say, this I Ching attempts to present a view of the actual situation.
The consultation should be made as calmly as possible, preferably using the traditional method of throwing coins.

SUGGESTED RULES FOR CONSULTING THE LUNAR VERSION
This version is for love relationships.
Consultations about "the actual state of my relationship" and "Description of X". As for the rest, the same goes as explained in the suggestions for the Martian Version.

Consulter
The Consulter is represented in the I Ching as the Wanderer. So, if the Wanderer is a Woman-Mother, it means that the attitude of the consulter relates to quietness, stillness and passiveness. If the Man-Warrior comes up, the attitude is active, impulsive and fighting. If it is represented by the Sorceress-Dragon it means the consultants attitude is a mix of the Man and the Woman with illusion as an added ingredient. Finally, if the Sage comes up it means your conduct is appropriate and you are doing the right thing.

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D

Darkness
State of the Heavens that is represented by impossibility of total vision, be it due to one's own blindness or unconsciousness or some concrete exterior obstacle.
It is symbolized by the Night, and it marks physical inactivity, time that is suitable for accumulating energy.

Dragon
The Dragon is a character that sums up both feminine and masculine qualities, not united but alternate.
It is a mythical and real, feminine and masculine, heavenly and earthly, and alchemic and superficial creature.
The Dragon can externally change itself into anything, but it is slightly more feminine than masculine; that is why other names for the Dragon include Sorceress and Illusion. It can be associated with the traditional Chinese dragon, the American Quetzalcoatl, and the goddess Maya of the Hindu's pantheon. It is not however, represented by European tradition since that dragon is only monstrous and not at all celestial.
The Dragon's kingdom is that of dreams, phantoms, symbols, illusions, and mirages, but it also dominates that which is magical. It can be as illuminated as a Sage, as destructive as a Warrior and as loving as a Mother; actually, it is all of these things at all times through constant changes.
It is the expression of chaos in the human being and can do harm, as well as, good. You can expect destruction or miracles from it and nothing can asseverate on its nature and acts due to its unpredictable and obscure nature.

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E

Earth
In the Wanderers, this represents the external conditions and circumstances the consultant is under.
It is the lower bigram and can take form as the Abyss, the Waters, the Wind and the Immenseness.
It is feminine in nature, contrary to the Heavens that are masculine. Therefore, the Earth is receptive, being transformed for the Wanderer, that at the same time, is being transformed by the Heavens.
Under the Abyss form it represents the conditions in which the obstacles are their greatest and action is impossible; as the Waters it represents chaotic circumstances, as the Wind, forced situations toward one direction and finally under the form of the Immenseness, it represents optimal external conditions.

Emptiness
The Emptiness for the I Ching of the Wanderers is the essential space where creation takes place; it is also the fundamental characteristic of that which is feminine. Without this cosmic space, creation is impossible, without the matrix of beings, existence could not take place, without silence, sound would make life impossible. The original Emptiness is a indissoluble part of being but with one difference: it has no limits. Through the Emptiness, the most profound nothingness, that is the foundation of existence, all beings are united.

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F

Fire
Fire represents the distinctive character of transmutation. It is luminous, creative, expansive, free, harmonic, and subtle. When it appears, definitive transformations always take place. In the Heavens, it is the Light, clarity. In the bigram of the Wanderers it represent the Sage and in the bigram of the Earth, the Immenseness. Fire is the harmonic fusion of masculine and feminine, which leave their beings in order to become a new kind of energy.

Future
The I Ching has been used in the past as a method for seeing the future. The Wanderers version, however, concentrates on the present situation where traces of the past and those of the future can be found.

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G

Galaxio
This is the I Ching author's nickname, his real name being Marcial G. Camperi. He started to use this nickname on web chats back in 1996, and uses it now for his publications and software. He chose this name because he was born at the exact same time as that the center of the Milky Way rose (astrologically speaking, Galaxy ascendant) in conjunction with the Moon. Also, he was the first to define the "galactic personality" through studies and statistics, and conducted research on the role of the Galaxy's Center in esoteric historical events (especially, the lives of Buddha and Krishnamurti) and finally, for being the first to include the Galactic Center and it's opposite pole, the Pleiades, in his astrology software.

Gleam
The Gleam is a sudden, unexpected revelation, the instant action of a waking truth, the sudden flash of light in the middle of darkness and is symbolized by a Ray.
The effect that is has on people is always one of shock, and therefore, has a paralyzing effect. The view of reality that it presents requires time to assimilate within the consulter.

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H

Hexagram
The ensemble of six lines, one on top of the other, that are drawn from bottom up and constitute the foundation of the I Ching. There are 64 hexagrams that are arranged in a different way in the traditional I Ching and the Wanderers: in the old I Ching the lines are arranged in inverse pairs, these pairs, at the same time, are arranged with no logical foundation, no apparent mathematics, while the Wanderers follow a progression based on the binary bigram, that could be considered mathematic. This latter arrangement also is related with the subtle anatomy of man, specifically the chakras, and the progression of the lines are directly related to the order of activation of them on a physical, emotional and mental level.
Another important difference that exists between the traditional I Ching and the Wanderers' is that the first separates each hexagram into two trigrams for analysis; while the latter separates it into three bigrams.
The difference in the ordering of the hexagrams in both versions is closely related to this fact.

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I

Intensity
Intensity, the increase and accumulation of energy is the creative meaning of life. On the contrary, dissipation, scattering and fragmentation constitute the decadent sense of things. Every positive cycle, every real path leads to more vital intensity.
In the Wanderers, the Heavens pass from Darkness to Light, the Earth transforms from the Abysses to the Immenseness and the Wanderers go through stages from Woman-Mother (feminine pole, receptive), the Sorceress-Dragon (feminine and masculine), the Man-Warrior (masculine, emanant), to the Sage, which is where feminine and masculine poles unite. When this union takes place, intensity is at a maximum.
So it is, that the Wanderers' message is that Nature and everything beautiful incline towards intensity, this being the true way of living.

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J

Jupiter
This heavenly body is related with everything social and pertaining to groups. That is why the Jupiterian Version of the Wanderers' I Ching deals with the dynamics of human society. Jupiter corresponds to the Penumbras, the Dragon and the Waters. See Planets.

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K

Karma
The law of Karma, as set forth by the Buddha, is immutable and there is no exceptions. According to this law, all actions are a result of its character, and once the action is done, nothing in the Universe can stop the consequences (be it good or bad) for the author. The I Ching has a lot to do with this law, since it tries to take a peep into the cosmic unit where many signs that show us what lies ahead are found.
When an effect, the product of Karma, is awaiting its time right before making itself known to a person, there are many types of signs that warn about the future event: dreams, intuitions, happenings. A totally awake person does not need things like the I Ching (and not even dreams) to warn about what is to come, but unfortunately illuminated people are scarce at this point in human evolution, and as a result, means such as the I Ching and dream interpretation end up being necessary scrutinizers of time and space.

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L

Light
Light is the fourth state of the Heavens; it follows the Gleam and is followed by Darkness. It represents clarity of mind, the real vision of things, the diaphane, and the time that great transmutations are possible.
In contrast to the Gleam, which is fleeting and explosive, Light has a moderate quality and more than permanent, it is eternal.

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M

Man-Warrior
The Man is one of the four Wanderers. It represents the masculine, impulsive, dominant, and aggressive pole. Another name for this character is the Warrior, since its most archetypal activity is that of struggle and fighting. This fight could be against any obstacle, competitor or enemy. The Man-Warrior represents the element of Air in the Wanderers' bigram.

Mars
The Martian Version was the first to be completed in 2002. It deals with action strategies under different cosmic conditions.
Mars corresponds to the Gleam, the Warrior and the Winds. See Planets.

Moon
This heavenly body deals with that which is feminine and love. That's why the Lunar Version deals with the dynamics of couples and love relationships. The Moon corresponds to the Abysses, the Woman-Mother and the Darkness. See Planets

Mother
See Woman.

Mystery
Mystery is that which we cannot know and forms an active part of life.
It is the reason why a prediction turns unsure, and also that which makes anything possible.
It's existence is eternal.

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N

Nothingness
See Emptiness.

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O

Obstacles
See Blocks

Origin
The author's account of how the Wanderer's I Ching came to be: My interest in the I Ching started when I was 17, when I bought a copy of the Mirko Lauer version.
With time that interest grew and was the reason I studied the Chinese language and its culture for a period of time.
In 1980, I got the complete versions of the I Ching and dedicated a few hours a day studying it throughout that year. I related the I Ching with other branches of Chinese tradition such as Martial Arts and Acupuncture. I also did some experiments, some quite interesting, for fun, the most strange being an analysis of the consulter before his first throw. This analysis, that consisted of from the type of emotions and thoughts at the time to the temperature of the fingertips, allowed me to pretty accurately guess what the first hexagram would be for that person. Though surprising, I didn't investigate further, but it was something that proved to me that the known traditional I Ching is just the tip of the iceberg.
Little by little, my reputation as an I Ching interpreter became known among my friends and soon our get-togethers turned into long consulting sessions and philosophical discussions, an appropriate subject for the hard times the country was living, at the time, with the military-guerrilla conflict. However, in spite of the fact that those exact guesses astounded me, I slowly lost interest in the traditional version of the I Ching.
Taking a deeper look into its history, I found out that in the past many other version of I Chings had existed and that there were destroyed by a Mongol emperor who sent all books to be burned in China; actually, the I Ching that we all know is a survivor among the multitude of versions that existed before that cultural disaster took place.
I especially did not like the comments attributed to Confucius, though the traditional interpretation of the lines really didn't satisfy me either. In fact, I ended up in discord with the order of the hexagrams and the spirit of the trigrams.
This dissatisfaction grew even more when I discovered, mentioned in this text, the mysterious connection between the lines and the energetic state of a person, from which I finally devised my own method of interpretation, much more successful that the that based on the old texts. By 1988 the old texts, for me, were worth nothing when interpreting the hexagram, and my accuracy was more remarkable than ever. I got to the point where I was relating the hexagrams with cosmic forces that were also expressed by the stars and also with the energetic archetypes that could be seen in action on a physical, biological, and esoteric level. That is how I arrived at the conclusion that there was much more to the traditional I Ching texts, done by people whose lights were excessively mundane and of little spirituality, such as the Duchess Duke of Chou and even Confucius.
I came to see the I Ching as a deviated and vulgar reflection of a book that was originally of much transcendental wisdom.
So I began to put into order everything that I had learned and discovered throughout those years of experimenting and study and the result was the creation of the new I Ching based on the concepts of the basic Yin and Yang, the order of the lines, the chakras, Astrology and the energetic state of the consulter. By 1991 I had this new I Ching rolling, based on bigrams not trigrams and that represented the interaction of the 4 possible states of the Heavens, the Earth and the Wanderer that travels within them. These 4 Wanderers were the Woman, the Dragon, the Man, and the Sage, the 4 states of the Heavens were the Darkness, the Penumbras, the Gleam, and the Light, while the Earth was represented by the Abysses, the Waters, the Land of Winds and the Immenseness.
I found myself writing the first version of this new "Wanderers' I Ching" in the enchanting place San Marcos Sierra, when I had a dream about a Dragon, a being that was at the same time a man and a woman, god, animal, and human, a pure representation of Magic whose character I was in doubt about. Precisely, the Dragon represented chaos, the indefinite, the unstable, so it isn't any wonder it was the hardest character to write about. On top of that, dreams are the kingdom of the Dragon.
The Dragon came to me under the guise of a nice young Chinese boy, normal, dressed in dark pants and a white shirt and he came quietly into my house and proceeded to fix a big clock that wasn't working. It was like a scene from an ordinary day, with the difference that I felt the presence of the Dragon through a courteous and timid person and I awoke very moved.
After that dream I never again had doubts about the nature of the Dragon and later, the paranormal events that always appeared when I undertook the studying or writing of the I Ching took place one after the other. This relation of I Ching and paranormal events is one of the most surprising things.
It is still this way, 10 years after the first try to write the first version of the Wanderers; every time I hook up with the I Ching strange things happen all around. For example, when I was writing about the Water region in the city of La Plata in March of 2002, a big three day storm cut loose. In the middle of the intense rains and whipping winds, looking out the window, I saw a strange still animal in the middle of a downpour that was flooding the street. It turned out to be an eel that had swam there from a stream that was 4 blocks away. It was wonderful to be able to save this animal, and I can't help but connect this experience with the writing of the Waters, a state of chaos but also where magic things happens.
But that is not all; when, one week later, on a Saturday, I began to write about the Land of Winds, a hurricane cut loose and we had the most impressive electrical storm I have ever seen (in the Wanderers' I Ching the Winds are connected to the Gleam, the rays).
So I had supposed that on Sunday the day I was going to write about the Immenseness that is would be on of those splendid diaphane days. And so it was while I finished that section of the I Ching. A coincidence? Maybe. At any rate, I had a real lesson on the spirit of the Waters, the Wind-Gleam and the Immenseness. In reference to the Abysses, there is nothing better than the situation we were living here in Argentina when I began writing this version in a darkened room.
Of course, while I write this significant dreams have returned, along with the state of energy that is sometimes associated with the I Ching.
The true I Ching is part of Nature, and Nature is the maximum expression of beauty and mystery.
And so, it took 10 years to mature this new version of the I Ching, though I actually don't think it is at its most mature point. In fact, it is probable that it will never be fully complete, because one thing you learn from this old wisdom is that everything flows, that there is no permanent destiny, no set paths; and that not even the Wanderer that takes off is himself that which happens and arrives (where?).
And it is according to this very law that the Book of Changes passes on the edge of its own birth and death once again.
And somehow, in some mysterious way, something of it passes through those abysses that abyss.

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P

Penumbras
The state of the Heavens where confusion, and chaos predominate, and where reality is mixed in with fiction. Some examples are; political or economic crisis in a country, a confused or deceptive view with which one sees, deceit, mirages.

Phantoms
Phantoms are the subjects of the Dragon, and the inhabitants of the Waters and the Penumbras. All of them share the same fictitious characteristic, but in a confused state can have more power that actual reality. For a weak mind in the grips of illusion, the Phantoms, external, as well as, internal, can cause concrete wrong behavior. Just like a mirage can drive travelers to death, the errors caused by illusive phantoms can be mortally dangerous, and the confusion they generate tends to spread from one person to another.
Phantoms share the illusive characteristic of the Dragon since they are light and darkness within themselves, and while they are around anything can happen: from real miracles to great disasters. A internal phantom is a bunch of memories and images that a person keeps in the brain. An external Phantom is different, in that, it is a product of various person's thoughts, and can have a certain own will, still, they are basically fictitious beings.

Planets
The astrological planets give name to the different versions of the Wanderers' I Ching for two reasons: the first, is that they have been written according to the rules of Talismanic Art, and second because the characters have a direct relationship with certain astrologic characters (Warrior = Mars, Magician = Jupiter, Woman = Moon, Sage = Uranus).
The Sage has yet another regent: Saturn. It is important to say that these associations are not free: Michel Gauquelin discovered that great athletes and warriors are born with a strong Mars influence, poets under the Moon, and actors with a strong Jupiter, and intellectuals under Saturn. There are many more associations within the 4 archetypes of the I Ching and the stars, but it is a subject that deserves its own chapter.

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Q

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R

Ray
See Gleam

Results
There are no goals or definite results in the Wanderers. It is all a process lacking a beginning and an end, where all the cycles are omnipresent. Still, there is a correct direction: toward maximum energetic intensity, and a preferable state: maximum subtlety. All of the advice in the Wanderers' I Ching is aimed at consulter's growth of intensity, fluidness, and subtlety in the present without really minding the external results, which, in any case, will come if the advice is taken correctly.

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S

Sage
The Sage represents the masculine and feminine elements of harmony. In harmony, they leave their feminine and masculine beings creating a new form of energy. The Sage is the representation of Fire in the Wanderer's bigram and is the only one that can transmute the Earth with the aid of the Heavens.

Software
You can get your free version for Windows of The Wanderers' I Ching - Martian Version (in spanish). The program can be used at any time but an Internet connection is necessary in order to read the hexagrams.

Sorceress
See Dragon

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T

Talismanic Art
The Wanderers' I Ching - Martian Version was carried out under the premises of Talismanic Art. This means that the totality of its texts and illustrations were done under the astrological influence of Mars and in a state of energy in accordance to that of the writer and the illustrators. Talismanic Art has been prompted by Galaxio since 1991, when he stated the theoretic foundations and began to experiment with literary and plastic art. In 1993, the first exhibitions of this style took place in San Marcos Sierra, Los Cocos and the capital city of the province of Cordoba, Argentina. It has been prompted since the construction of the Galaxio web site, where there is a talismanic art gallery online.

Tossing coins
So is named the act of making a consultation using the traditional method of tossing 3 coins.

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U

Unity
Underneath the fragmented appearances lies a reality that has no divisions. This is the reason why there are certain arts like the I Ching that can reflect the real situation of a consulter through (apparently) randomly generated numbers.
Without this sense of deep unity, the entire Creation would be a mere product of randomness, and therefore be senseless.

Uranus
The Uranian Version deals with the spiritual-energy theme. Uranus is a planet deeply linked to the process of energy transmutation, and in a certain sense, this is the most important version of all.

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V

Versions
The Wanderers' I Ching has various versions, all by the same author: the Martian Version, is aimed at consulters that wish to ask about an action: the Jupiterian Version deals with social situations; the Lunar Version, is oriented toward love relationships; the Uranian Version, has to do with spiritualism, etc.
Each one of these versions is written according to the rules of Talismanic Art, that is, under the astrological influence of the stars they are named for and certain states of energy of the author and his surroundings.

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W

Warrior
See Man.

Woman-Mother
The Woman is the first of the four Wanderers; she is the beginning of all the paths and the progenitor of all the Wanderers, that's why she is also referred to as the Mother, because motherhood is the archetypal of the feminine pole.

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X

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Y

Yang
The masculine pole of the Cosmos, according to Taoism. In the hexagrams, it is represented by a full line. In the Wanderers Yang represents energy, action contrary to Yin that represents the empty space where everything lies.

Yin
The feminine pole of the Cosmos, according to Taoism. In the hexagrams, it is represented by a broken line. In the Wanderers Yin represents a void, space, absence of energy contrary to Yang that is energy in action.

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Z

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Consult the I Ching of the Wanderers online