The I Ching Readings Journal is a way of recording each stage of your reading.
This begins at the point where you reflect on the situation that you are enquiring about and think of a question to ask the Yi. Type in your question and enter a brief description of the background situation. It may be a good idea to do this just before casting the hexagram - using your chosen method of consultation. Once you have done this you can manually enter the primary hexagram and any lines that are changing into the Reading's Journal. The software will then generate the relating hexagram, and the hexagrams of context and change. Read more about this in the section on Getting Started.
Now you have all the hexagrams associated with the reading on screen, you can browse through the hexagram and line statements, and the Great Image (Legge's translation). The software has buttons and tabs which take you to this information easily. There is also a translation key which shows the original Chinese characters and pinyin for the Hexagram Statements, along with a basic translation of the meaning for each word. Also, if you have entered alternative translations for any hexagram, this can be viewed by clicking a link to bring up a new screen (so you have easy access to a range of different perspectives). Once you have considered how the hexagrams relate to your situation and question, there is a separate text box to write down your thoughts. This provides space to write down what your think the Yi may be trying to convey. Read more about this in the section on Exploring the Results of Your Reading.
The great advantage of any sort of readings journal, paper or computer alike, is the ability to look back at past readings, and compare your understanding of what a reading meant, with how the situation actually unfolded. As well as having space to record the reading background and your understanding of what the hexagrams meant in relation to your question, the I Ching Readings Journal allows you to enter separate comment posts within each reading for you to record how the situation unfolded stage by stage over a period of time. This provides a comprehensive record of your reading from the initial situation up to the present day.
When it comes to finding a reading or gathering together groups of readings based on a criteria that interests you, there are a number of search tools for you to choose from. This includes finding readings based on unique reference number, keywords, questions, hexagrams/line, and trigrams. For example, Keyword Searches bring up readings which have a particular word in your Background Notes and Thoughts, and/or readings with associated hexagrams containing particular Chinese character(s) in their Hexagram Statement(s); and Hexagram Searches bring up all readings within a date range that have a particular hexagram or line associated with them. There is more information in the section on Searching.
You can, at any time, add additional translations manually from books which you already own. There is space to enter the Hexagram Statement, Lines text, and material from the Wings. In so doing you have easy access to alternative translations which can be browsed as you examine your reading. As well as being able to enter your preferred translation, alternative translations can also offer a different perspective on the meaning of the Hexagram. You can also select a default translation for primary and relating hexagram titles which is displayed on the Main Reading's Screen. As such, your Journal also acts as your own personal I Ching Library - growing in size and usefulness as you enter additional translations for each of the hexagrams. Read more about this in the section on Using the I Ching Reading's Journal Over Time.