above  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The first hexagram is made up of six unbroken lines. These unbroken lines stand for the primal power, which is light-giving, active, strong, and of the spirit. The hexagram is...

above  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH This hexagram is made up of broken lines only. The broken lines represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. The attribute of the hexagram is devotion; its image is the...

above  K’AN  THE ABYSMAL, WATER below  CHêN  THE AROUSING, THUNDER The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle as it sprouts out of the earth–hence the meaning, “difficulty at the beginning.” The...

above  KêN  KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below  K’AN  THE ABYSMAL, WATER Youthful folly is the natural extension of difficulty at the beginning. Whenever we venture into the unknown or new circumstance we are vulnerable to the folly of our own inexperience. In this...

above  K’AN  THE ABYSMAL, WATER below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN All beings have need of nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this one must wait. this hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to...

above  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  K’AN  THE ABYSMAL, WATER The upper trigram, whose image is heaven, has an upward movement; the lower trigram, water, in accordance with its nature tends downward. Thus the two halves move away from each other,...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER this hexagram is made up of the trigrams K’an, water, and K’un, earth, and thus it symbolizes the ground water stored up in the earth. In the same way military strength is stored up...

above  K’AN  THE ABYSMAL, WATER below  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The waters on the surface of the earth flow together wherever they can, as for example in the ocean, where all the rivers come together. Symbolically this connotes holding together and the...

above  SUN  THE GENTLE, WIND below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN this hexagram means the force of the small–the power of the shadowy–that restrains, tames, impedes. A weak line in the fourth place, that of the minister, holds the five strong lines in...

above  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  TUI  THE JOYOUS, LAKE The name of the hexagram means on the one hand the right way of conducting oneself. Heaven, the father, is above, and the lake, the youngest daughter, is below. this shows the difference between...

above  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The Receptive, which moves downward, stands above; the Creative, which moves upward, is below. Hence their influences meet and are in harmony, so that all living things bloom and...

above  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH this hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one. Heaven is above, drawing farther and farther away, while the earth below sinks farther into the depths. The creative powers are not in...

above  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  LI  THE CLINGING, FLAME The image of the upper trigram Ch’ien is heaven, and that of the lower, Li, is flame. It is the nature of fire to flame up to the heaven. this gives the idea of fellowship. IT is the second...

above  LI  THE CLINGING, FLAME below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The fire in heaven above shines far, and all things stand out in the light and become manifest. The weak fifth line occupies the place of honor and all the strong lines are in accord with it. All...

above  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below  KEN  KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN this hexagram is made up of the trigrams Kên, Keeping Still, mountain, and K’un, Earth. The mountain is the youngest son of the Creative, the representative of heaven and earth. It...

above  CHêN  THE AROUSING, THUNDER below  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The strong line in the fourth place, that of the leading official, meets with response and obedience from all the other lines, which are all weak. The attribute of the upper trigram, Chên, is...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The trigram Tui, the Joyous, whose attribute is gladness, is above; Chên, the Arousing, which has the attribute of movement, is below. Joy in movement induces following. The Joyous is the youngest daughter,...

above Kên KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below Sun THE GENTLE, WIND The Chinese character ku represents a bowl in whose contents worms are breeding. this means decay. It has come about because the gentle indifference of the lower trigram has come together with the rigid...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE The Chinese word lin has a range of meanings that is not exhausted by any single word of another language. The ancient explanations in the Book of Changes give as its first meaning, “becoming...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning. It means both contemplating and being seen, in the sense of being an example. These ideas are suggested by...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER this hexagram represents an open mouth (cf. hexagram 27) with an obstruction (in the fourth place) between the teeth. As a result the lips cannot meet. To bring them together one must bite energetically...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE this hexagram shows a fire that breaks out of the secret depths of the earth and, blazing up, illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights. Grace, beauty of form, is necessary in any union...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The dark lines are about to mount upward and overthrow the last firm, light line by exerting a disintegrating influence on it. The inferior, dark forces overcome what is superior and strong, not...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The idea of a turning point arises from the fact that after the dark lines have pushed all of the light lines upward and out of the hexagram, another light line enters the hexagram from below. The...

above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER Ch’ien, heaven is above; Chên, movement, is below. The lower trigram Chên is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven. When, in accord with this,...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The Creative is tamed by Kên, Keeping Still. this produces great power, a situation in contrast to that of the ninth hexagram, Hsiao Ch’u, THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL, in which the...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER this hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through which we take food for nourishment, the thought...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD this hexagram consists of four strong lines inside and two weak lines outside. When the strong are outside and the weak inside, all is well and there is nothing out of balance, nothing extraordinary in the...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER this hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K’an. It is one of the eight hexagrams in which doubling occurs. The trigram K’an means a plunging in. A yang line has plunged in...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE this hexagram is another double sign. The trigram Li means “to cling to something,” and also “brightness.” A dark line clings to two light lines, one above and one below–the image of...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The name of the hexagram means “universal,” “general,” and in a figurative sense “to influence,” “to stimulate.” The upper trigram is Tui, the Joyous; the...

above CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND The strong trigram Chên is above, the weak trigram Sun below. this hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one. In the latter we have influence, here we have union as an enduring condition. The two images...

above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. this retreat is a matter not of one’s will but of natural law. Therefore in...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The great lines, that is, the light, strong lines, are powerful. Four light lines have entered the hexagram from below and are about to ascend higher. The upper trigram is Chên, the Arousing; the...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The hexagram represents the sun rising over the earth. It is therefore the symbol of rapid, easy progress, which at the same time means ever widening expansion and clarity. THE JUDGMENT PROGRESS. The...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE Here the sun has sunk under the earth and is therefore darkened. The name of the hexagram means literally “wounding of the bright”; hence the individual lines contain frequent references to...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE The hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second...

above LI THE CLINGING, FLAME below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li above, i.e., flame, which burns upward, and Tui below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward. These two movements are indirect contrast. Furthermore, Li is the second...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The hexagram pictures a dangerous abyss lying before us and a steep, inaccessible mountain rising behind us. We are surrounded by obstacles; at the same time, since the mountain has the attribute of...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER Here the movement goes out of the sphere of danger. The obstacle has been removed, the difficulties are being resolved. Deliverance is not yet achieved; it is just in its beginning, and the hexagram...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE This hexagram represents a decrease of the lower trigram in favor of the upper, because the third line, originally strong, has moved up to the top, and the top line, originally weak, has replaced it. What is...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram. This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN This hexagram signifies on the one hand a break-through after a long accumulation of tension, as a swollen river breaks through its dikes, or in the manner of a cloudburst. On the other hand, applied...

above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below. Of its own accord the dark...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH This hexagram is related in form and meaning to Pi, HOLDING TOGETHER (8). In the latter, water is over the earth; here a lake is over the earth. But since the lake is a place where water collects, the...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and the upper, K’un, means the earth. Linked with this is the idea that wood in the earth grows upward. In contrast to the meaning of Chin, PROGRESS...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up. Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light line; below, a light line is hemmed in between two...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD Wood is below, water above. The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water. The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China. The wood represents not the buckets, which in...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense an animal’s pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting. From this word is carried over to apply to the...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON; at the bottom are the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings. At the same time, the image suggests...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The hexagram Chên represents the eldest son, who seizes rule with energy and power. A yang line develops below two yin lines and presses upward forcibly. this movement is so violent that it arouses...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN This hexagram is made up of Sun (wood, penetration) above, i.e., without, and Kên (mountain, stillness) below, i.e., within. A tree on a mountain develops slowly according to the law of its being and...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE Above we have Chên, the eldest son, and below, Tui, the youngest daughter. The man leads and the girl follows him in gladness. The picture is that of the entrance of the girl into her husband’s house....

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE Chên is movement; Li is flame, whose attribute is clarity. Clarity within, movement without-this produces greatness and abundance. The hexagram pictures a period of advanced civilization. However, the fact...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The mountain, Kên, stands still; above it fire, Li, flames up and does not tarry. Therefore the two trigrams do not stay together. Strange lands and separation are the wanderer’s lot. THE JUDGMENT The...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD Sun is one of the eight doubled trigrams. It is the eldest daughter and symbolizes wind or wood; it has for its attribute gentleness, which nonetheless penetrates like the wind or like growing wood with...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE this hexagram, like sun, is one of the eight formed by doubling of a trigram. The trigram Tui denotes the youngest daughter; it is symbolized by the smiling lake, and its attribute is joyousness. Contrary to...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER Wind blowing over water disperses it, dissolving it into foam and mist. this suggests that when a man’s vital energy is dammed up within him (indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE A lake occupies a limited space. When more water comes into it, it overflows. Therefore limits must be set for the water. The image shows water below and water above, with the firmament between them as a...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE The wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water. Thus visible effects of the invisible manifest themselves. The hexagram consists of firm lines above and below, while it is open in the center. this...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN While in the hexagram Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28), the strong lines preponderate and are within, inclosed between weak lines at the top and bottom, the present hexagram has weak lines...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE this hexagram is the evolution of T’ai PEACE (11). The transition from confusion to order is completed, and everything is in its proper place even in particulars. The strong lines are in the strong...

above LI THE CLINGING, FLAME below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER This hexagram indicates a time when the transition from disorder to order is not yet completed. The change is indeed prepared for, since all the lines in the upper trigram are in relation to those in the...