A welcome to 2025, transformed by the lines of Book of Changes or the I Ching. 

This is a creative writing workshop focused on self-knowledge, inspired by “the oldest extant book of divination,” the I Ching. 

The I Ching “has been an influence on such cultural icons as Bob Dylan, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Philip K. Dick, and today it is turned to by millions around the world for insights on spiritual growth, business, medicine, genetics, game theory, strategic thinking, and leadership, and of course for the window it opens to China” (John Minford, translator of the I Ching).

Our aim is to create a poetical immersion into the images of the hexagrams. These symbols, central to the I Ching’s divinatory practices, have been the cornerstone of Chinese cosmology and philosophy for millennia. As writers, their lines (Yin and Yang) will generate our own wondrous writing lines, be they personal, biographical, poetical, fictional or meditative. 

Each session will be dedicated to one of the eight essential trigrams, their interpretation and images followed by writing and conversation. These trigrams symbolize natural phenomena, human experiences and cosmic principles, forming the building blocks of the 64 hexagrams.

January

• Session 1. The Creative // Heaven
• Session 2. The Receptive // Earth
• Session 3. The Arousing // Thunder
• Session 4. The Abysmal // Water

February

• Session 5. Keeping Still // Mountain
• Session 6. The Gentle // Wind
• Session 7. The Clinging // Fire
• Session 8. The Joyous // Lake 

We will read the Minford and the Wilhelm/Baynes translations (no need to buy the book). Other material will be available to writers, including information and sites of reference about each trigram. Participants don’t need to be a professional writer or even know the I Ching to participate. You only need to be present with your pen, notebook and heart-listening. 

“Marilia’s Writing Lab spurs my daily creativity in ways I never expected. Her kind listening and warm encouragement go a long way to make writing both joyful and rewarding.” –Margaret Kachadurian (President, and co-founder of Montana Mindfulness Project in Bozeman)

“I really appreciate how Marilia makes the Lab a group experience where it feels safe to write from a place of freedom and vulnerability.”  –Travis Burdick (Writer and Music Teacher at a Middle School in Livingston)

“Use this book to always see other sides and at the same time to always be able to see inside.”   -David Scheinbaum (Photographer)