筮

• The tool: Divining rods.
• The act: To perform divination via stalks; to consult the rods.
• The system: The method, art, or technical practice of stalk-divination (e.g., 筮法).

Functions as both a noun and a verb. As a verb, it is typically transitive: one "stalk-divines" a specific question, situation, or outcome.

• vs. 卜 (bǔ): While 卜 refers to pyromancy (cracking bone or shell), 筮 is strictly the use of stalks. In later texts, 卜 often becomes a generic term for any divination, but the use of 筮 usually indicates technical precision regarding the method.
• vs. 占 (zhān): Refers to the observation of omens or signs; it is broader and less tied to a specific physical tool than 筮.
• Relationship to 卦 (guà): The process of 筮 (the act/tool) is used to derive the 卦 (the resulting hexagram).

The glyph combines 竹 (bamboo/stalk) and 示 (altar/spirit), marking it as a material ritual process.

Avoid confusion with 誓 (shì, "to swear an oath"). While phonetically similar and conceptually linked via ritual communication, they are visually distinct; the bamboo radical (竹) in 筮 serves as a hard anchor for the material tool.