I Ching Explained

The library

All 64 hexagrams

The complete Book of Changes. Search by name, number or trigram, or filter by how the six lines are weighted. Every page carries the reading, the six changing lines, and the hexagram's relations to the others.

64 hexagrams

01 · Qián · Heaven/HeavenThe CreativePure yang. Creative force at full pressure — act, but stay awake to your own momentum.02 · Kūn · Earth/EarthThe ReceptivePure yin. Receptive power — the way forward is through support, not assertion.03 · Zhūn · Water/ThunderDifficulty at the BeginningBirth is mess. Everything is starting at once and nothing is orderly yet.04 · Méng · Mountain/WaterYouthful FollyNot knowing is the lesson. Ask sincerely and accept instruction.05 · Xū · Water/HeavenWaitingWait — but wait the way water waits: present, patient, and ready.06 · Sòng · Heaven/WaterConflictOpen disagreement. Winning the argument is not the same as resolving it.07 · Shī · Earth/WaterThe ArmyCollective effort under discipline. There must be a centre.08 · Bǐ · Water/EarthHolding TogetherUnion holds only when the motive is genuine. Choose your company.09 · Xiǎo Chù · Wind/HeavenSmall TamingSmall restraint. Hold the tension a little longer before you push.10 · Lǚ · Heaven/LakeTreadingTreading carefully past power. Poise, not defiance.11 · Tài · Earth/HeavenPeaceHeaven and earth in contact. Flow — connect things while the channel is open.12 · Pǐ · Heaven/EarthStandstillDisconnection. Withdraw what you value and stop feeding the blockage.13 · Tóng Rén · Heaven/FireFellowship with MenShared purpose across difference. The open, public space is where it works.14 · Dà Yǒu · Fire/HeavenPossession in Great MeasureGreat possession. Held lightly, it grows; held tightly, it becomes weight.15 · Qiān · Earth/MountainModestyModesty is not smallness. It is the only high position that stays high.16 · Yù · Thunder/EarthEnthusiasmEnthusiasm moves crowds — make sure the direction deserves the energy.17 · Suí · Lake/ThunderFollowingFollowing is a choice. Serve what is genuine and it becomes mutual.18 · Gǔ · Mountain/WindWork on What Has Been SpoiledRepair what has rotted. Someone must go first, and it will not be pleasant.19 · Lín · Earth/LakeApproachApproach is near. Meet what matters with presence, not performance.20 · Guān · Wind/EarthContemplationContemplation. Step outside your own life and look at how it actually runs.21 · Shì Kè · Fire/ThunderBiting ThroughBite through the obstacle. Clarity delivered without cruelty is possible.22 · Bì · Mountain/FireGraceGrace in small things. Adorn the essence — do not replace it.23 · Bō · Mountain/EarthSplitting ApartSplitting apart. Stop adding. What falls away was never load-bearing.24 · Fù · Earth/ThunderReturnReturn. One honest turn resets everything — no explanation required.25 · Wú Wàng · Heaven/ThunderInnocenceInnocence. Behave without the angle and the world stops resisting.26 · Dà Chù · Mountain/HeavenThe Taming Power of the GreatGreat taming. Store power through restraint and let it move when it counts.27 · Yí · Mountain/ThunderThe Corners of the MouthNourishment. Watch what enters your mouth — food, words, information.28 · Dà Guò · Lake/WindPreponderance of the GreatPreponderance. The load is heavier than the beam. Act quickly or rebuild.29 · Kǎn · Water/WaterThe AbysmalDanger, twice over. Danger does not dissolve by being avoided; pass through.30 · Lí · Fire/FireThe ClingingThe Clinging. Fire depends on what it holds. Attach to what burns clean.31 · Xián · Lake/MountainInfluenceInfluence. Attraction begins as feeling, not argument. Stay honest.32 · Héng · Thunder/WindDurationDuration. Consistency beats intensity. What lasts must flex.33 · Dùn · Heaven/MountainRetreatRetreat. Withdrawal in the right moment is a strategic success.34 · Dà Zhuàng · Thunder/HeavenThe Power of the GreatGreat power, used correctly. Strength is only real when it is measured.35 · Jìn · Fire/EarthProgressProgress. The light is rising. Advance in plain view.36 · Míng Yí · Earth/FireDarkening of the LightThe light is wounded. Hide your brilliance, keep it alive.37 · Jiā Rén · Wind/FireThe FamilyThe family. Order at home is the prototype of order everywhere.38 · Kuí · Fire/LakeOppositionOpposition. Difference is workable in small things, not in the great.39 · Jiǎn · Water/MountainObstructionObstruction. Go around — turn back to what waits instead of forcing.40 · Xiè · Thunder/WaterDeliveranceDeliverance. Release held tension, then tidy up the aftermath.41 · Sǔn · Mountain/LakeDecreaseDecrease below to increase above. Give something up on purpose.42 · Yì · Wind/ThunderIncreaseIncrease. The moment favours generosity and forward motion.43 · Guài · Lake/HeavenBreakthroughBreakthrough. Announce the truth clearly, then stop pushing.44 · Gòu · Heaven/WindComing to MeetComing to meet. Something alluring arrives with real influence.45 · Cuì · Lake/EarthGathering TogetherGathering. Concentration needs a centre and an occasion.46 · Shēng · Earth/WindPushing UpwardPushing upward. Quiet, patient ascent from below — no leapfrogging.47 · Kùn · Lake/WaterOppressionOppression. Constraint from outside. Say less, mean more.48 · Jǐng · Water/WindThe WellThe well. The source is common to all; what varies is the drawing.49 · Gé · Lake/FireRevolutionRevolution. Change is due — but only after people trust the reason.50 · Dǐng · Fire/WindThe CauldronThe cauldron. Transform raw material into something that nourishes others.51 · Zhèn · Thunder/ThunderThe ArousingThe Arousing. Shock arrives. Stay standing and the fear turns into clarity.52 · Gèn · Mountain/MountainKeeping StillKeeping still. Stop at the right place. Restraint is the whole act.53 · Jiàn · Wind/MountainDevelopmentDevelopment. Gradual, rooted growth — visible only in retrospect.54 · Guī Mèi · Thunder/LakeThe Marrying MaidenThe Marrying Maiden. Entering a structure without full standing. Know that.55 · Fēng · Thunder/FireAbundanceAbundance. The peak. Be generous and useful while the light lasts.56 · Lǚ · Fire/MountainThe WandererThe Wanderer. Passing through. Be light, polite, and unattached.57 · Xùn · Wind/WindThe GentleThe Gentle. Influence through repetition and penetration, not force.58 · Duì · Lake/LakeThe JoyousThe Joyous. Pleasure that opens, not sedates. Joy invites exchange.59 · Huàn · Wind/WaterDispersionDispersion. Dissolve what has frozen — ego, rigidity, hoarded feeling.60 · Jié · Water/LakeLimitationLimitation. Structure liberates when it is the right size.61 · Zhōng Fú · Wind/LakeInner TruthInner truth. Influence through sincerity; sincerity can move what force cannot.62 · Xiǎo Guò · Thunder/MountainPreponderance of the SmallPreponderance of the small. Do the small, careful thing. Do not fly.63 · Jì Jì · Water/FireAfter CompletionAfter completion. Order achieved; disorder begins in the margins.64 · Wèi Jì · Fire/WaterBefore CompletionBefore completion. Almost through. Stay attentive — the last step is a step.

How to use this library

Two ways in. If you already have a hexagram — from your own cast, or from a reading someone gave you — search for its number or name and read the entry. If you are starting from a question, cast a reading first and let the oracle pick the page for you.

If you have no idea where to begin, the eight hexagrams with a doubled trigram are the clearest doors: 1 The Creative, 2 The Receptive, 29 The Abysmal and 30 The Clinging are the four that carry the whole system's logic, and 63 and 64 are the pair that close and reopen the cycle.

Two ways to read a hexagram

Read the hexagram alone and you get a description of the situation. Read it with its nuclear hexagram and you get the situation's hidden interior. Read it with its complementary and inverse and you get the two positions it is not — which is often the fastest way to see what a reading is actually asking of you. Each page links to all of them.