I Ching

Eight trigrams, combined two at a time, give 64 hexagrams. Once you know the eight, every hexagram can be reasoned rather than memorised.

Hexagram of the day

18 · Work on the Decayed

Repairing what was neglected.

Read it

The eight trigrams

☰ Heaven Qian · creative force
☱ Lake Dui · joy and openness
☲ Fire Li · clarity and attachment
☳ Thunder Zhen · arousal and shock
☴ Wind Xun · gentle penetration
☵ Water Kan · danger and depth
☶ Mountain Gen · stillness and limit
☷ Earth Kun · receptive yielding

All 64 hexagrams

#NameImageMeaning
1 The Creative ☰ ☰ Heaven above, Heaven below Pure initiative — the moment to act with full force
2 The Receptive ☷ ☷ Earth above, Earth below Pure yielding — strength through accepting rather than pushing
3 Difficulty at the Beginning ☵ ☳ Water above, Thunder below A hard start; growth held back by early chaos
4 Youthful Folly ☶ ☵ Mountain above, Water below Inexperience meeting a problem it does not yet understand
5 Waiting ☵ ☰ Water above, Heaven below The situation is not ready; patience is the action
6 Conflict ☰ ☵ Heaven above, Water below Opposition that cannot be resolved by force
7 The Army ☷ ☵ Earth above, Water below Organised effort under clear leadership
8 Holding Together ☵ ☷ Water above, Earth below Union around a shared centre
9 Small Taming ☴ ☰ Wind above, Heaven below Restraint by gentle means; small gains only
10 Treading ☰ ☱ Heaven above, Lake below Careful conduct in a dangerous position
11 Peace ☷ ☰ Earth above, Heaven below Heaven below, earth above — forces flowing toward each other
12 Standstill ☰ ☷ Heaven above, Earth below The inverse of Peace; forces moving apart
13 Fellowship ☰ ☲ Heaven above, Fire below Shared purpose in open company
14 Great Possession ☲ ☰ Fire above, Heaven below Abundance held with responsibility
15 Modesty ☷ ☶ Earth above, Mountain below The mountain beneath the earth; strength kept low
16 Enthusiasm ☳ ☷ Thunder above, Earth below Movement that carries others with it
17 Following ☱ ☳ Lake above, Thunder below Adapting to circumstances rather than forcing them
18 Work on the Decayed ☶ ☴ Mountain above, Wind below Repairing what was neglected
19 Approach ☷ ☱ Earth above, Lake below Something favourable drawing nearer
20 Contemplation ☴ ☷ Wind above, Earth below Standing back to see the whole
21 Biting Through ☲ ☳ Fire above, Thunder below Decisive action against an obstruction
22 Grace ☶ ☲ Mountain above, Fire below Form and beauty, but on a small scale
23 Splitting Apart ☶ ☷ Mountain above, Earth below Decay from below; do not resist, wait
24 Return ☷ ☳ Earth above, Thunder below The turning point; light comes back
25 Innocence ☰ ☳ Heaven above, Thunder below Acting without calculation
26 Great Taming ☶ ☰ Mountain above, Heaven below Power held in reserve and built up
27 Nourishment ☶ ☳ Mountain above, Thunder below What you take in, and what you say
28 Great Exceeding ☱ ☴ Lake above, Wind below A load too heavy for the structure
29 The Abysmal ☵ ☵ Water above, Water below Repeated danger; keep your footing
30 The Clinging ☲ ☲ Fire above, Fire below Fire doubled — brightness that depends on fuel
31 Influence ☱ ☶ Lake above, Mountain below Mutual attraction, courtship
32 Duration ☳ ☴ Thunder above, Wind below Endurance through consistency
33 Retreat ☰ ☶ Heaven above, Mountain below Withdrawing in good order before it is forced
34 Great Power ☳ ☰ Thunder above, Heaven below Strength that must not be misused
35 Progress ☲ ☷ Fire above, Earth below Steady advance in daylight
36 Darkening of the Light ☷ ☲ Earth above, Fire below Keeping your light hidden in hostile conditions
37 The Family ☴ ☲ Wind above, Fire below Order that begins at home
38 Opposition ☲ ☱ Fire above, Lake below Two forces facing different ways
39 Obstruction ☵ ☶ Water above, Mountain below An obstacle that calls for a different route
40 Deliverance ☳ ☵ Thunder above, Water below The tension breaks; relief arrives
41 Decrease ☶ ☱ Mountain above, Lake below Giving something up for a larger gain
42 Increase ☴ ☳ Wind above, Thunder below A favourable time; act while it lasts
43 Breakthrough ☱ ☰ Lake above, Heaven below A resolute push past resistance
44 Coming to Meet ☰ ☴ Heaven above, Wind below An encounter that should be handled carefully
45 Gathering Together ☱ ☷ Lake above, Earth below People drawn to a common point
46 Pushing Upward ☷ ☴ Earth above, Wind below Gradual ascent through effort
47 Oppression ☱ ☵ Lake above, Water below Exhaustion and confinement
48 The Well ☵ ☴ Water above, Wind below The source that does not move but nourishes all
49 Revolution ☱ ☲ Lake above, Fire below The old order must change
50 The Cauldron ☲ ☴ Fire above, Wind below Transformation and cultivation
51 The Arousing ☳ ☳ Thunder above, Thunder below Shock repeated; sudden change
52 Keeping Still ☶ ☶ Mountain above, Mountain below The mountain doubled — stopping completely
53 Development ☴ ☶ Wind above, Mountain below Slow, orderly progress
54 The Marrying Maiden ☳ ☱ Thunder above, Lake below Entering a situation from a weak position
55 Abundance ☳ ☲ Thunder above, Fire below Fullness at its peak, which cannot last
56 The Wanderer ☲ ☶ Fire above, Mountain below Being a stranger; travel light
57 The Gentle ☴ ☴ Wind above, Wind below Penetrating influence, repeated
58 The Joyous ☱ ☱ Lake above, Lake below Open, shared pleasure
59 Dispersion ☴ ☵ Wind above, Water below Breaking up what has hardened
60 Limitation ☵ ☱ Water above, Lake below Useful boundaries
61 Inner Truth ☴ ☱ Wind above, Lake below Sincerity that convinces without argument
62 Small Exceeding ☳ ☶ Thunder above, Mountain below Attend to small things, not large ones
63 After Completion ☵ ☲ Water above, Fire below The task is done; now hold it together
64 Before Completion ☲ ☵ Fire above, Water below Almost there, and the last step matters most

How a hexagram is built

Each hexagram is six lines, read from the bottom up. The lower three form one trigram and the upper three form another — so every hexagram is a relationship between two of the eight.

Hexagram 11, Peace, is Earth above and Heaven below. That looks upside down until you notice the logic: heaven rises and earth sinks, so in this arrangement they move toward each other. Hexagram 12 reverses it, and the two drift apart — which is why it means Standstill.

Consulting it

The traditional method divides fifty yarrow stalks in a procedure taking several minutes per line. The three-coin method is faster: toss three coins six times, building the hexagram from the bottom line up.

Lines can be "changing", which turns one hexagram into a second and gives a reading of movement from one situation to another. That mechanism is what makes the I Ching a book about change rather than a set of static fortunes.