Browse the 64 Hexagrams
Discover all 64 hexagrams that comprise the I Ching's wisdom system. Each pattern offers unique insights into the nature of change and transformation.
☰The 64 Hexagrams
Each hexagram is composed of six lines that can be either yin (broken) or yang (solid), creating 64 unique combinations that represent different states of change and transformation.
The hexagrams are traditionally numbered 1-64, with each having its own name, meaning, and interpretation. They serve as mirrors reflecting both universal principles and specific situations.
Click on any hexagram below to explore its detailed meaning, including its judgment and line interpretations from the Legges translation.
These 64 archetypes represent the fundamental patterns of change in the universe, from the most concrete situations to the most subtle states of consciousness.
1. The Creative / Qian
The Creative. Primal success, furthering through perseverance.
2. The Receptive / Kun
The Receptive brings sublime success. Its persistence is that of the mare. If the noble person takes the lead, they go astray; if they follow, they find their guide. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest, and to leave friends in the northeast. Quiet persistence brings good fortune.
3. Sprouting / Zhun
Supreme success. Furthering through perseverance. Do not act prematurely. There is a goal to pursue. It is advantageous to appoint helpers.
4. Youthful Folly / Meng
Success. It is not I who seek the youthful fool; the youthful fool seeks me. At the first divination, I inform him. If he asks two or three times, it is importunity; if he importunes, I give no information. Perseverance furthers.
5. Waiting / Xu
Waiting with sincerity brings brilliant success. Perseverance leads to good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great water.
6. Conflict / Song
You are sincere but find yourself obstructed. A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune; pushing through to the end brings misfortune. It is beneficial to see the great man. It is not beneficial to cross the great water.
7. The Army / Shi
Perseverance. A mature leader. Good fortune and no blame.
8. Union / Bi
Good fortune. Inquire of the oracle again: if there is sublimity, constancy, and perseverance, there is no blame. Those who are uncertain gradually join. Whoever comes too late meets with misfortune.
9. Small Accumulation / Xiao Xu
Success. Dense clouds, no rain, coming from my western outskirts.
10. Conduct / Lu
Treading on the tail of the tiger. It does not bite the man. Success.
11. Peace / Tai
The small departs, the great approaches. Good fortune and success.
12. Stagnation / Pi
Stagnation. A time of non-humanity. It does not favor the perseverance of the superior person. The great departs; the small approaches.
13. Fellowship / Tong Ren
Fellowship with others in the open: Success. It is favorable to cross the great water. The perseverance of a noble person brings reward.
14. Great Abundance / Da You
Supreme success.
15. Modesty / Qian
Success. The superior person carries things through to completion.
16. Enthusiasm / Yu
It is favorable to appoint feudal lords and set armies in motion.
17. Following / Sui
Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame.
18. Remedying the Decay / Gu
Supreme success. It is favorable to cross the great water. Three days before the starting point, three days after the starting point.
19. Approach / Lin
Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month arrives, there will be misfortune.
20. Contemplation / Guan
The ablution has been performed, but the offering not yet presented. Full of trust, they look up with reverence.
21. Biting Through / Shi He
Success. It is favorable to administer justice.
22. Adornment / Bi
Success. In small matters, it is favorable to have a destination.
23. Stripping Away / Bo
Stripping Away. It is not favorable to have a goal or to go anywhere.
24. Return / Fu
Success. Going out and coming in without distress. Friends arrive without blame. The path returns upon itself; in seven days comes the return. It is favorable to have a goal in view.
25. Innocence / Wu Wang
Supreme success. Persistence is beneficial. If one is not upright, there will be misfortune; it is not favorable to have a destination or undertake action.
26. Great Accumulation / Da Xu
Persistence is beneficial. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great water.
27. Nourishment / Yi
Perseverance brings good fortune. Observe the providing of nourishment and what a person seeks to fill their own mouth with.
28. Great Excess / Da Guo
The ridgepole sags. It is favorable to have a goal. Success.
29. The Abyss / Kan
The Repeated Abyss. If there is sincerity, the heart finds success. Action brings reward.
30. Radiance / Li
Persistence is beneficial; success. Rearing the cow brings good fortune.
31. Reciprocity / Xian
Success. Persistence is beneficial. Taking a maiden as a wife brings good fortune.
32. Continuity / Heng
Success. No blame. Persistence is beneficial. It is favorable to have a destination.
33. Retreat / Dun
Success. In small matters, perseverance brings reward.
34. Great Power / Da Zhuang
Perseverance is beneficial.
35. Progress / Jin
The powerful prince is honored with a multitude of horses. In a single day, he is granted audience three times. (Context: This hexagram signifies a time of rapid advancement and expansion. Success is achieved through the alignment of an enlightened leader and a loyal, capable subordinate. The 'horses' symbolize the means of progress, and the 'three audiences' represent the high level of trust and frequent recognition bestowed by a superior.)
36. Darkening of the Light / Ming Yi
In times of hardship, perseverance brings success.
37. The Family / Jia Ren
The perseverance of the woman brings benefit.
38. Opposition / Kui
In small matters, good fortune.
39. Obstruction / Jian
The southwest is favorable; the northeast is not. It is advantageous to see the great man. Perseverance brings good fortune.
40. Deliverance / Xie
The southwest is favorable. If there is no longer a destination, returning brings good fortune. If there is still a destination, acting with speed brings good fortune.
41. Decrease / Sun
Decrease with sincerity brings supreme good fortune. No blame. One may be steadfast. It is favorable to have a goal. How should this be carried out? Two simple bowls may be used for the offering.
42. Increase / Yi
It is favorable to have a goal and to move forward. It is favorable to cross the great water.
43. Resolution / Guai
The matter must be announced at the royal court. A sincere cry of alarm; there is danger. Notify one's own city. It is not favorable to resort to arms. It is favorable to have a goal toward which to go.
44. Encounter / Gou
The woman is powerful. Do not marry such a woman.
45. Gathering Together / Cui
Success. The King approaches his ancestral temple. It is favorable to see the great person; this brings success. Persistence is rewarding. Offering great sacrifices brings good fortune. It is favorable to have a goal and move forward.
46. Ascending / Sheng
Ascending. Supreme success. One must see the great man. Have no fear. Departure toward the south brings good fortune.
47. Oppression / Kun
Success. Perseverance. For the great man, good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
48. The Well / Jing
The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed. It neither loses nor gains; people come and go to draw from the well. If the rope is almost long enough but does not reach the water, or if the jug is broken before the water is drawn, this brings misfortune.
49. Revolution / Ge
On your own day, you are believed. Supreme success. Persistence is beneficial. Remorse disappears.
50. The Cauldron / Ding
Supreme good fortune. Success.
51. The Arousing (Shock) / Zhen
Success. When the shock comes, there is fear and trembling, but later come laughing words and cries of joy. The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, yet he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.
52. Stillness / Gen
Stillness in the back, so that one no longer perceives the self. Walking through the courtyard, one does not notice the people there. No blame. Context: This hexagram represents the mountain, symbolizing the art of remaining composed and centered. True stillness is not merely the absence of motion, but the ability to be quiet when the time calls for rest and to act when the time calls for movement. By quieting the ego (the 'back' where the nerves of action reside), one achieves a state of objective detachment where external distractions no longer disturb the inner peace.
53. Gradual Progress / Jian
Gradual Progress. The maiden is given in marriage. Good fortune. Perseverance furthers.
54. The Marrying Maiden / Gui Mei
Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing is gained.
55. Abundance / Feng
Abundance. Success. The king attains it. Do not worry; be like the sun at midday.
56. The Wanderer / Lu
Small success. For the wanderer, perseverance brings good fortune.
57. The Gentle (Penetration) / Xun
Small success. It is favorable to have a goal to pursue. It is favorable to see the great man.
58. Joy / Dui
Success. Persistence is profitable.
59. Dispersion / Huan
Success. The King approaches his ancestral temple. It is favorable to cross the great water. Perseverance is rewarding.
60. Limitation / Jie
Success. Galling limitation must not be persevered in.
61. Inner Truth / Zhong Fu
Sincerity reaches even pigs and fishes. Good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great water. Perseverance is rewarding.
62. Preponderance of the Small / Xiao Guo
Success. Persistence is beneficial. Small matters may be undertaken, but great matters should not. A flying bird leaves its call behind: it is not right to strive upward, it is right to remain below. Great good fortune.
63. After Completion / Ji Ji
Success in small matters. Perseverance is beneficial. Initial good fortune leads to eventual disorder.
64. Before Completion / Wei Ji
Success. The little fox has almost completed the crossing, but if it wets its tail, there is no advantage. (Context: This hexagram represents a time of transition where order is emerging from chaos. Success is possible, but the final steps require extreme caution. Like a fox crossing thin ice, one must remain alert; a premature or careless move at the very end can undo all previous efforts.)