I tried I-Ching, bought the book, too.  I ended up confused so many times that I finally gave up, gave the book to a friend and called it quits.  She gets confused with it, too and isn't practicing it now.

Getting confused when first reading I ching can happen to anyone. But if you overcome first difficulties and have some first experience with I ching then you will be more interested and after that you might become a diligent learner of I ching.

I myself when first studied I ching wondered why some old guys around me can predict about things. At first I thought they are drunkards but after some meetings with them I saw that what they were practicing are a serious and saintly mystic art. Thanks to them again.

i would like to know more abt I-ching. can you guys help? and why is it so confusing?

Its confusing because it's based in ancient chinese thought and medical properties that aren't applicable to modern western thinkers or modalities as we're considering them to be. If you really want to learn the I Ching you'll have to study chinese philosophy and thought first. Until you understand the meaning behind the five elements, etc, you're going to lose the principals of the I Ching and it will simply become rote memorization.

That's been my experience with it anyways.

This is an awesome post.

I was actually considering on making flash cards in order to help me learn the system but you've given me a much stronger (and in hindsight, much more obvious!) approach.

Also, for learning to use the i-ching I found that a few little guide books do alright. Just to wrap your head around the actual formula of the system, how the hexagrams are cast and read. But yeah, as crimsonstars mentioned, the best place is probably to start with eastern thought and philosophy. I think I'll go hunt down a few key figures and start there.