We All Ching for I-Ching!

I have created a new blog for my Etsy store, 12th House Books, which you can find here. The 12th House Blog is where we share our love for the written word, one dusty tome at a time. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be an Avid collector of rare books & seller of vintage occult books. Expect witty book reviews, quirky author profiles, and a healthy dose of bibliomania! You can read my first post below but I encourage you to click over to the 12th House Blog and follow us there. 

A Rare Find

Last week, I was browsing the shelves at my favorite second-hand bookstore in search of rare and vintage books for my Etsy store, 12th House Books, when I came across this interesting tome. At first, I thought it was a Bible, but upon closer inspection, I saw that it had this little flap attached to it containing some sticks. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a 1977 copy of The I Ching or Book of Changes by Richard Wilhelm translated into English by Cary F. Baynes and with a forward by C.G. Young himself!

As you can (hopefully) see from the photograph, this leather was handmade and handstitched by the previous owner, or someone on their behalf. As near as I can tell, the symbol on the cover are Chinese characters that read Chou I, "Changes of Chou," an alternative name of the "Book of Changes." 

The sticks turned out to be wooden skewers which many people use in place of yarrow stalks or coins to generate their trigrams. From the aged appearance of the sticks, they appear to be quite old and often used. Clearly, this book was well loved, and I wonder if it was donated by the previous owner's child or grandchild who didn't completely understand or couldn't appreciate the worth of such a unique item. As for the original cover, you can see a photo here.

Found in the Pages

Flipping through the book, I found these two dried leaves which appear to be from a Maple Tree. Now what I find REALLY interesting is that if you look closely, you'll see a single (human?) hair pressed between the pages along with the Maple Leaves. According to Scott Cunningham in his book Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, maple leaves are used in love spells. This could quite possibly be a love spell to bring two people together!

I also found this receipt dated March 27th, 1988, from a Waldenbooks somewhere in California. This edition was printed in 1987, so it's not unreasonable to think this receipt is for this specific book 

What Does This Mean?

I'm not sure what to make of this find. It's possible that the previous owner of the book was a witch or a magician. Or it could be that they were simply a fan of The I Ching and wanted to add a personal touch to their book. In any case, I find it fascinating that this book has such a rich history. It's a reminder that books can be more than just words on a page. They can be portals to other worlds and other times.

I'm grateful to have found this book, and I'm excited to share it with you. If you're interested in learning more about The I Ching, I encourage you to check out my Etsy store, 12th House Books. I have a variety of books on divination and witchcraft, including many rare and vintage editions. I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you did, please share it with your friends and family. And be sure to check back soon for more blog posts from 12th House Books.