Curiosity.

The heart of the I Ching revolves around one of the most fundamental qualities of human nature - curiosity. Curiosity is what led us to learning about the I Ching, and the hexagrams stood out as fascinating, visually arresting, and stunningly modern elements of this ancient text. As students and appreciators of their beauty, we invite the Web3 community to explore these amazing symbols with us.

We are not providing interpretation or explanation, nor are we reading fortunes. We are creating this series of uniquely beautiful NFTs to celebrate the aesthetic wonder of these hexagrams through modern eyes.

Here are some books and resources we found helpful:

“The Complete I Ching” by Taoist Master Alfred Huang
“The I Ching, or, Book of Changes” by Richard Wilhelm
I Ching - Wikipedia
Alan Watts - The I Ching (a bit dated in presentation, but great explanation of the magnitude of the concepts)

Mission.

Our mission is to bring the I Ching fully into the metaverse. We’ll work with our community on Discord to figure out exactly what that looks like (we have some pretty cool ideas), but the accumulated wisdom - captured in the ancient generative art/binary code of the I Ching Hexagrams - should be brought into web3. We will start development of our I Ching application once we sell out 100% of the I Ching Hexagrams generative NFTs.

Six stacked horizontal lines.

This sequence of lines could be a visual representation of computer code - a binary system of broken and unbroken lines in sixty-four distinct combinations arranged in an array. But these figures predate computers by thousands of years.

These are the hexagrams of the I Ching, the ancient Chinese divination text that dates back to the 9th Century BC. The I Ching (or Book of Changes) is one of the most consulted books in China and across East Asia, and is the most recognized Chinese text in the world, unique in its seemingly infinite uses and interpretations over the centuries.

A philosophical study of the order of the universe, an oracle, a guide for living a moral life, or an organizing principle for the arts, sciences, nature, and medicine… whatever a reader’s intended use of the text, the principle tools to guide that reading are the hexagrams.

What is a hexagram?

The I Ching contains a group of 64 distinct hexagrams that are key for working with the text. Each hexagram consists of a stack of six lines, either broken (Yin) or unbroken (Yang). To form a hexagram, coins or yarrow reeds are tossed in a series, building from the bottom up. Once a hexagram is built, the I Ching can be consulted, with each hexagram connected to a specific name and description.

Each individual line of the hexagram also has its own description, though it is not known how these two types of descriptions were meant to be used as they relate to one another. The text itself is cryptic, similar to a parable or saying, and the interpretation of these texts and their uses has been the subject of scholarly study for hundreds of years.

Rarity Information.

I Ching Hexagrams are 3,200 generative NFTs with the following attributes:

Hexagrams

There are 64 Hexagrams in the collection. There are between 47 and 53 of each hexagram.

Background Colors

Hexagram Colors

Seals.

I Ching

This seal says I Ching (Yi Jing) and is written in Seal Script, an ancient form of writing Chinese characters, common in the first millennium BCE.

8.6% of the I Ching Hexagram NFTs have this seal

King Wen of Zhou

This seal says King Wen of Zhou and is written also in Seal Script. King Wen is traditionally regarded as the author of the KingWen Sequence, the order of the 64 hexagrams.

4.6% of the I Ching Hexagram NFTs have this seal.

Roadmap.

Give away 5 hexagram NFTs to 5 hexagram NFT owners (via Twitter and Discord)
We will buy 1.0 ETH worth of hexagram NFTs and give them to individual hexagram NFT owners (via Twitter and Discord).
Start work on the I Ching application described in The Mission. I Ching Hexgrams NFT holders will have VIP access.
Begin the second Deep Time Project (see below).

Please note:

If the collection sells out quickly, we'll work through the Roadmap as fast as we can. I Ching Hexagram NFT holders will get VIP access to future NFT projects produced by The Deep Time Project.

The Deep Time Project.

The Deep Time Project is a series of three generative NFT collections, the first of which is I Ching Hexagrams (ICH). The other two will be started when the previous collection sells out. So, when ICH sells out, we will begin work on Deep Time Project number two. Digital Shamanism is the thread that binds all three projects.

If all three collections sell out, wallets that have all three Deep Time NFTs (at a date to be chosen later) will get a 4th generative NFT airdropped for free.

Giving Back.

Beyond celebrating these hexagrams, the goal of this campaign is to raise money for a charitable organization that is dedicated to serving the Asian diaspora community. The pandemic has been uniquely devastating to Asian communities everywhere, with Asian-owned businesses impacted from the early days of COVID-19, long before lockdowns began.

Citizens of Asian descent around the world found themselves the target of racist hate-mongering at the highest levels of power, and have had far more to fear than just the virus.

I Ching Hexagrams team members are mostly located in the metro NY area. We are taking this opportunity to help our local community by working with the Heart of Dinner (see below).

We will be dedicating 5% of all proceeds raised from the sale of these NFTs to Heart of Dinner, a remarkable grassroots charitable organization fighting food insecurity and isolation in our Asian American senior community.

Founded at the onset of COVID-19, Heart of Dinner works to fight food insecurity and isolation experienced by Asian American seniors—two long-standing community issues heightened by the pandemic. Today, Heart of Dinner serves elders in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, delivering weekly hot lunches, fresh produce, and bulk ingredients while supporting local small businesses during their COVID-related recovery process.

More Info

The I Ching Hexagrams Team

David Weinstein

FOUNDER
David Weinstein spent the last 7 years trying to find an audience for a product on Web 2 and now would like to build a product for an audience on Web 3. So, he founded The Deep Time Project (@DeepTimeProject) and set out to connect with people who are also fascinated with things like the I Ching.
Fay Yu

PRODUCER
Fay Yu is an award winning television producer who has created, developed, and produced programming for Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Channel, TRVL, ID and more. She is also an accomplished classical violinist performing regularly with the Greenwich Village Orchestra, and an obsessive baker writing a cookbook about the desserts of her Chinese and Filipino heritage. Fay lives in Brooklyn with her family, her cats, 13 stringed instruments, and a piano.
Joshua V Rothstein

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Josh is an award-winning Director and Photographer who creates successful multi-platform solutions for some of today’s most iconic brands and artists.
Josh is the co-founder of the Director’s Collective NYC - an intensive director's workshop that focus on script analysis and scene work with actors. Josh is also the co-founder and creative director of The Dinner Roll Campaign, a creative organization dedicated to helping those who the pandemic has left most vulnerable, both in the independent restaurant industry and people struggling to feed themselves and their families.
Blake Swerdloff

PRODUCTION ADVISOR
Blake Swerdloff is a 5-time Emmy nominated television producer. Prior to launching Leesam Creative Group, he was a founding partner of BSTV Entertainment where he developed and ran Food Network’s #1 Daytime series The Kitchen, as well as Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, Beach Bites with Katie Lee, Rewrapped, and What the Fung?!Swerdloff has worked with an array of networks including MTV, HGTV, The Disney Channel, ABC, VH1, E!, BET, A&E, MSNBC, truTV and Discovery Channel. Blake Swerdloff is a member of the Producers Guild of America and works closely with organizations such as The Human Rights Campaign, Live Out Loud, Rethink Food and City Harvest.
Saro Cutri

BUSINESS ADVISOR
Saro is a devoted husband and semi-retired dad to three little girls and one beautiful pup. He's a Web 3 & defi enthusiast and a serial entrepreneur having co-founded 4 successful startups and counting. A lover of snowboarding, the Brooklyn Nets and all things pizza.