I Ching and Synchronicity

The psychologist C.G. Jung was impressed by what he saw as the I Ching’s ability to offer clear answers to important questions. Jung coined the term synchronicity and used this idea to explain how the I Ching works, stating, “... whatever is born or done in this moment of time has the quality of this moment of time” (Jung 1931, 142). The idea here is that when I concentrate on a particular question while tossing the coins in my consultation with the I Ching, my question and my coin tosses are part of that particular moment in time, and the I Ching’s answer to my question will also be part of that moment in time, hence, the question and the answer are united in that moment. This somehow accounts for the coincidental appropriateness of the answer to the question. This Principle of Synchronicity is supposed to explain meaningful coincidences that, we are told, cannot be connected by cause and effect yet cannot be explained by chance either. In relation to the I Ching, Jung says, “... synchronicity takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar interdependence of objective events ... as well as the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observers” (Jung 1950, xxiv).