Upper trigram
☷
Earth (Kun) above
Receptive yielding.
FamilyMother
ElementEarth
Hexagram 36 of 64
I Ching hexagram 36 ☷☲ Darkening of the Light
I Ching hexagram 36, Darkening of the Light, is earth above, fire below. In brief: keeping your light hidden in hostile conditions. Counting from the bottom, its solid lines sit in places 1 and 3 and its broken lines in 2, 4, 5 and 6.
- Lines, bottom up
- ⚊⚋⚊⚋⚋⚋ 101000 · 1 = solid
- Trigrams
- Earth over Fire Kun ☷ / Li ☲
- Every line changed
- № 6 Conflict
- In Legge, 1882
- p. 134 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
Legge, The Yî King, 1882.
Lower trigram
☲
Fire (Li) below
Clarity and attachment.
FamilyMiddle daughter
ElementFire
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What the text says, in plain terms
The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 36
The Judgement
The light is dimmed. In a hostile or unjust environment, it is wise to keep your integrity hidden inside while appearing unassuming outside.
The Image
The sun sunk below the earth. The lesson is to lead quietly, keeping clarity within while not displaying it where it would be attacked.
A summary of meaning written for this site, not a translation — James Legge’s 1882 translation of the full text follows below. How the Judgement and the Image are read, and which translations to use →
Primary source
Hexagram 36 in James Legge’s translation
“Ming Î indicates that (in the circumstances which it denotes) it will be advantageous to realise the difficulty (of the position), and maintain firm correctness.”
“(The trigram representing) the earth and that for the bright (sun) entering within it form Ming Î. The superior man, in accordance with this, conducts his management of men;—he shows his intelligence by keeping it obscured.”
The lines
- Line 1 · bottom The first line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Î, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).
- Line 2 The second line, divided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Î, wounded in the left thigh. He saves himself by the strength of a (swift) horse; and is fortunate.
- Line 3 The third line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Î, hunting in the south, and taking the great chief (of the darkness). He should not be eager to make (all) correct (at once).
- Line 4 The fourth line, divided, shows its subject (just) entered into the left side of the belly (of the dark land). (But) he is able to carry out the mind appropriate (in the condition indicated by) Ming Î, quitting the gate and courtyard (of the lord of darkness).
- Line 5 The fifth line, divided, shows how the count of Kî fulfilled the condition indicated by Ming Î. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
- Line 6 · top The sixth line, divided, shows the case where there is no light, but (only) obscurity. (Its subject) had at first ascended to (the top of) the sky; his future shall be to go into the earth.
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 134 — read the original text.
Words in parentheses are Legge’s own: in his preface he explains that they supply what the original writer left unsaid. “Undivided” and “divided” are his terms for yang and yin lines, counted from the bottom. The Image comes from the second appendix of the book, the Treatise on the Symbolism.
Darkening of the Light for a decision
Protect yourself rather than confronting openly. Stay true to your principles privately, avoid drawing fire and wait for the darkness to lift.
I Ching 36 in love and relationships
A period where honesty is not safe to express fully. Keep your self-respect and choose carefully what to share.
Hexagram 36 at work
A difficult boss, toxic culture or unfair treatment. Keep a low profile, document carefully and plan your own path.
The six lines of hexagram 36
Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yang yin yang yin yin yin — what each position means.
2 yang and 4 yin lines. Five of the six stand in their proper place, and the pairs 1–4 and 3–6 answer.
What the two trigrams do to each other
Inner and outer
Fire below — clarity and attachment — is the private, inner side of hexagram 36.
Earth above — receptive yielding — is the world that side meets.
The five-element relation
Fire below generates Earth above in the five-element cycle: the lower trigram feeds the upper. Energy moves upward and outward, which is the more productive of the two directions.
Read as a family
The mother sits above and the middle daughter below. A parent over a child, which the tradition reads as guidance, authority or constraint depending on the rest of the figure.
Calculated from the lines
Hexagrams connected to hexagram 36
Nuclear hexagram
40 · Deliverance
What is happening beneath the surface.
Lines 2–4 give Kan (Water) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Zhen (Thunder) as the upper.
Opposite hexagram
6 · Conflict
The situation turned inside out.
Change all six lines and Earth over Fire becomes Heaven over Water.
Inverse hexagram
35 · Progress
The situation seen from the other side.
Turn the figure upside down and Earth over Fire becomes Fire over Earth.
None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.
The image
Earth above, Fire below.
Earth over Fire: receptive yielding meeting clarity and attachment.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “I Ching Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/36/
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