Method
This is not a dictionary and not a revelation. It is a field journal kept under specific rules. The rules exist so the engine produces signal, not noise.
The Unit of Mapping
Rule 1
The primary unit is the hexagram — one of 64 whole states. Not trigrams, not individual lines, not positions in the King Wen sequence. When trigrams or lines appear in a note, they explain why a hexagram-level mapping holds. They are evidence, not the claim.
Rule 2
Correspondences run from a tradition's concept to one or more hexagrams, never the reverse. The I-Ching is the grid; other traditions are mapped onto it. This is an editorial choice, not a metaphysical claim. The 64-state system was chosen as anchor because it is finite, navigable, and structurally complete.
Confidence Ratings
Every entry carries one of three ratings. The criteria are explicit.
Firm
Structural isomorphism. The two traditions use identical operational templates to describe the same principle. The parallel does not depend on metaphor, translation, or editorial interpretation — it is visible in the structure itself. Example: Kether (first emanation, pure will before form) and Hexagram 1 (six unbroken yang lines, pure creative force before manifestation). Same position, same function, arrived at independently.
Probable
Functional analogy. The traditions perform similar operations on similar material, but through different mechanisms. The parallel requires editorial judgment to identify. Example: The Emperor (IV) maps to both Hexagram 34 (authority in action) and Hexagram 26 (authority as container) — the concept splits across two hexagram-functions rather than mapping cleanly to one.
Speculative
Philosophical inference. The mapper is reading a principle into the system, not discovering it in the structure. The parallel is noted because it is interesting and may prove structural upon further examination — but it has not yet. Example: Tzimtzum (divine contraction) mapped to Hexagram 12 (Standstill) — “The I-Ching never uses the word ‘contraction’ but the structure is there.”
Cardinality
Rule 3
One-to-one mappings are rare and privileged. When a concept maps cleanly to a single hexagram (Hermit → Hex 52, Lovers → Hex 31), that precision is itself evidence of structural depth. Most entries are one-to-many.
Rule 4
One-to-many mappings must explain the split. When a concept maps to multiple hexagrams, the note must say which hexagram captures which facet. “The Emperor maps to Hex 34 and Hex 26” is insufficient. “Hex 34 for authority in action; Hex 26 for authority as container” is required.
Rule 5
Many-to-one is acceptable only for foundational hexagrams. Hexagram 1 (The Creative) legitimately receives correspondences from multiple traditions because it represents a fundamental principle. A hexagram with ten correspondences at the center of the field is convergence. A hexagram with ten correspondences because the mapper was being generous is noise.
What Counts as a Structural Parallel
Rule 6
Structure beats metaphor. If two traditions use identical structural templates — same position in their system, same operational function, same sequential relationship to adjacent concepts — that is a structural parallel. If they merely use similar imagery (thunder ≈ shock), that is a thematic echo and earns “probable” at best.
Rule 7
Divergences are documented, not suppressed. When traditions arrive at the same point by opposite routes — Kabbalists ascend toward what the I-Ching starts from; Egypt encodes as narrative what the I-Ching encodes as structure — the difference is noted as instructive, not papered over. A correspondence that requires hiding a difference is not a correspondence.
Rule 8
Sometimes no hexagram fits. When a concept cannot be mapped without force — or when it requires the relationship between hexagrams rather than any single one — the entry says so. “No single hexagram captures The World because the I-Ching does not believe in endings.” The engine prefers an honest gap to a false correspondence.
Editorial Commitments
Rule 9
Revision is shown, not hidden. Entries marked crossed-out preserve the original mapping with a strikethrough, followed by the correction and the reasoning. The Hanged Man was first mapped to Hex 48 (reversal of perspective); then revised to Hex 12 (willing suspension of motion). The struck-through hypothesis is more honest than a clean final answer.
Rule 10
Scarcity is load-bearing. Some hexagrams are sparse — zero or one correspondence. This is correct. Not every state in the I-Ching has a clean analogue in every tradition. A sparse hexagram is a data point, not a failure. The moment every hexagram has twelve correspondences at “firm,” the engine has become noise.
Rule 11
Shadow states are reframed, not avoided. Lead is not evil — it is unfinished gold. Oppression is not punishment — it is heaviness plus fixity. Splitting Apart is not destruction — it is the necessary clearing that precedes Return. The engine treats difficult hexagrams and dark symbols as structural descriptions, not moral judgments.
Rule 12
This is resonance, not syncretism. The engine does not claim these traditions secretly share the same map. It documents where their maps overlap, how they overlap, and how confidently the parallel holds. Where they diverge, it says so. The field journal records what it finds. It does not compose what it wishes were true.
Cross-References
Many entries include cross-references to other hexagrams. These serve four functions:
A hexagram that manifests a related aspect of the same concept. Kether → Hex 1 cross-references Hex 2 (its receptive counterpart).
A hexagram that carries the warning or dark side. Leo → Hex 1 cross-references Hex 30 (fire that must cling to fuel).
Hexagrams that form a narrative arc. Ra → Hex 1 cross-references Hex 36 and Hex 24 (the full solar cycle: rise, darkening, return).
A hexagram where the same principle appears in different dress. The Magician → Hex 1 cross-references Hex 14 (creative force manifest as abundance).
The engine is legible because it has constraints. Remove the constraints and it becomes a Rorschach test — you see whatever you want to see. Keep them and it becomes a lens.
— from the marginalia