Book of Changes
The 64 I Ching Hexagrams
This hub lists the 64 hexagrams in the King Wen sequence. The short English theme summaries are original Quick I Ching prose for basic orientation, kept together so you can compare the sequence without treating each entry as a standalone prediction.
Hexagram 1
The Creative 乾
Creative force
Strong initiating energy favors purposeful action, but lasting progress depends on discipline, timing, and the ability to keep strength aligned with principle.
Hexagram 2
The Receptive 坤
Receptive support
The situation calls for responsiveness, patience, and steady support. Progress comes less from forcing events than from making room for what can genuinely develop.
Hexagram 3
Difficulty at the Beginning 屯
Difficulty at the beginning
Early disorder is part of formation. Clarify priorities, gather support, and build structure before expecting a new undertaking to move smoothly.
Hexagram 4
Youthful Folly 蒙
Learning through uncertainty
Not knowing is the central condition. Ask carefully, learn from consequences, and replace impulsive certainty with disciplined inquiry.
Hexagram 5
Waiting 需
Waiting with purpose
Conditions are not fully ready. Prepare, conserve confidence, and use the interval well rather than treating delay as failure.
Hexagram 6
Conflict 讼
Conflict
Competing positions are hardening. Define the real issue, limit unnecessary escalation, and consider where principled compromise or outside perspective can help.
Hexagram 7
The Army 师
Organization and discipline
Collective effort needs clear roles, legitimate leadership, and restraint. Order matters more than enthusiasm when many forces must act together.
Hexagram 8
Holding Together 比
Holding together
Connection is possible when commitments are sincere and timely. Examine what truly creates trust before joining, leading, or asking others to align.
Hexagram 9
Small Taming 小畜
Small restraints
Minor limits can shape a larger outcome. Attend to details, relationships, and incremental preparation instead of trying to overpower the situation.
Hexagram 10
Treading 履
Careful conduct
You may be moving near stronger forces or sensitive boundaries. Respect, awareness, and correct conduct reduce unnecessary risk.
Hexagram 11
Peace 泰
Flow and exchange
Different forces can cooperate productively. Use favorable circulation to strengthen foundations rather than assuming harmony will maintain itself.
Hexagram 12
Standstill 否
Stagnation
Connection is blocked and useful exchange is limited. Preserve integrity, avoid futile forcing, and watch for the conditions that could restore movement.
Hexagram 13
Fellowship 同人
Fellowship
Shared purpose can bring people together across narrower interests. Make the common ground explicit and keep cooperation open rather than factional.
Hexagram 14
Great Possession 大有
Great possession
Resources or influence are available. The question is how to use abundance responsibly, proportionately, and without letting possession become arrogance.
Hexagram 15
Modesty 谦
Modesty
Balanced self-measurement supports durable progress. Reduce excess, acknowledge limits, and let competence show through consistent action rather than display.
Hexagram 16
Enthusiasm 豫
Enthusiasm
Energy can mobilize people and plans, but excitement needs direction. Build momentum around something real enough to sustain collective effort.
Hexagram 17
Following 随
Following
Adaptation is useful when it follows what is worthy rather than what is merely convenient. Notice which influence deserves commitment.
Hexagram 18
Work on the Decayed 蛊
Repairing what has decayed
Something inherited or neglected needs correction. Diagnose the source, accept responsibility for repair, and change the pattern rather than patching symptoms.
Hexagram 19
Approach 临
Approach
Access and influence are increasing. Use proximity to understand, support, and prepare, remembering that favorable openings also have limits.
Hexagram 20
Contemplation 观
Contemplation
Step back far enough to see the pattern and your own role in it. Observation becomes useful when it changes the quality of subsequent action.
Hexagram 21
Biting Through 噬嗑
Biting through obstacles
A concrete obstruction requires clear discrimination and decisive handling. Apply only the degree of firmness needed to restore order.
Hexagram 22
Grace 贲
Grace and form
Presentation and form matter, but they should reveal rather than replace substance. Refine what is visible without confusing appearance with the core issue.
Hexagram 23
Splitting Apart 剥
Splitting apart
Support is being stripped away. Reduce exposure, protect what is essential, and avoid pretending a weakening structure can carry the same load.
Hexagram 24
Return 复
Return
A cycle is turning back toward its root. Small, genuine renewal matters more than dramatic correction; restore the right direction step by step.
Hexagram 25
Innocence 无妄
Uncontrived action
Act from what is straightforward and appropriate rather than from manipulation or overplanning. Unexpected events are easier to meet when motives remain clear.
Hexagram 26
Great Taming 大畜
Great restraint
Substantial power is being contained and trained. Accumulate capability, knowledge, and resources so that later action is deliberate rather than premature.
Hexagram 27
Nourishment 颐
Nourishment
Pay attention to what sustains people, systems, and attention. What you take in—and what you repeatedly provide—shapes the condition that follows.
Hexagram 28
Great Exceeding 大过
Great excess
The structure is carrying unusual pressure. Ordinary measures may be insufficient, so identify the overloaded point and respond before strain becomes collapse.
Hexagram 29
The Abysmal Water 坎
Repeated danger
Risk or uncertainty recurs. Reliability comes from learning the terrain, keeping to sound practice, and moving without denying the danger.
Hexagram 30
The Clinging Fire 离
Clarity and attachment
Illumination depends on what it is attached to. Choose sound objects of attention and make distinctions clearly without becoming consumed by brightness or certainty.
Hexagram 31
Influence 咸
Influence
Mutual responsiveness can change the situation without coercion. Notice what genuinely moves you and others, and keep influence reciprocal rather than manipulative.
Hexagram 32
Duration 恒
Duration
Continuity matters more than a burst of effort. Choose a course that can be maintained while allowing methods to adapt as circumstances change.
Hexagram 33
Retreat 遁
Retreat
Stepping back can preserve position and clarity when direct engagement is unproductive. Withdrawal is strongest when it is timely, orderly, and purposeful.
Hexagram 34
Great Power 大壮
Great power
Capacity is high, which makes restraint more important. Use strength in proportion to the situation and avoid turning capability into unnecessary pressure.
Hexagram 35
Progress 晋
Progress
Visibility and forward movement are increasing. Use the opening to contribute clearly, build trust, and keep advancement connected to real value.
Hexagram 36
Darkening of the Light 明夷
Brightness concealed
An unfavorable environment may punish open display. Protect insight, stay inwardly clear, and choose carefully how much of your position to reveal.
Hexagram 37
The Family 家人
The family
Stable relationships depend on roles, boundaries, and example. Improve the immediate system of conduct before trying to correct the wider environment.
Hexagram 38
Opposition 睽
Opposition
Differences are real and should not be blurred. Small areas of cooperation may still be possible when each side understands where alignment ends.
Hexagram 39
Obstruction 蹇
Obstruction
The direct route is blocked. Reconsider direction, seek assistance, and use the obstacle as information about what the current approach cannot solve.
Hexagram 40
Deliverance 解
Release
Tension can now be loosened. Resolve what is necessary, forgive what no longer needs carrying, and move promptly once the obstruction has actually cleared.
Hexagram 41
Decrease 损
Decrease
Deliberate reduction can restore balance. Let go of what is excessive so attention and resources can return to what is essential.
Hexagram 42
Increase 益
Increase
Growth is available when benefits circulate rather than accumulate narrowly. Invest where added energy strengthens the whole situation.
Hexagram 43
Breakthrough 夬
Breakthrough
A problem needs to be named openly and addressed firmly. Clarity should precede action, and determination should not become aggression.
Hexagram 44
Coming to Meet 姤
Coming to meet
A small but potent influence is entering the situation. Recognize its character early and set boundaries before attraction or convenience gives it disproportionate power.
Hexagram 45
Gathering Together 萃
Gathering
People or resources can collect around a center. Shared purpose, preparation, and trustworthy leadership determine whether gathering becomes coherence or crowding.
Hexagram 46
Pushing Upward 升
Pushing upward
Steady ascent is possible through modest, cumulative effort. Seek support, do the next workable thing, and let progress build from a sound base.
Hexagram 47
Oppression 困
Constraint
External room is limited, so inner steadiness matters. Distinguish what cannot currently be changed from the commitments you can still uphold.
Hexagram 48
The Well 井
The well
A durable source of nourishment may already exist, but access and maintenance matter. Improve the shared resource and the means by which people draw from it.
Hexagram 49
Revolution 革
Revolution
Real change may require replacing an exhausted form, but legitimacy and timing are essential. Transform only when the case for change is mature and understood.
Hexagram 50
The Cauldron 鼎
The vessel
Raw material can be transformed into something of lasting value. Focus on the container, process, and culture that make refinement possible.
Hexagram 51
The Arousing Thunder 震
Shock
A sudden disturbance demands presence rather than panic. Recover orientation quickly, learn what the shock reveals, and keep essential responsibilities intact.
Hexagram 52
Keeping Still Mountain 艮
Keeping still
Stopping is appropriate when further motion would only add noise. Let attention settle, respect boundaries, and act again when stillness has clarified the next move.
Hexagram 53
Development 渐
Gradual development
Progress is real but sequential. Build each stage so the next has something stable to rest on; rushing would weaken the development.
Hexagram 54
The Marrying Maiden 归妹
Unequal position
You may be entering a situation without full authority or control. Understand the terms, protect dignity, and avoid assuming influence you do not yet possess.
Hexagram 55
Abundance 丰
Abundance
Conditions are full and highly visible. Use the peak actively and responsibly, knowing that fullness is a phase rather than a permanent state.
Hexagram 56
The Wanderer 旅
The traveler
You are operating without deep roots in the present setting. Keep aims modest, observe local conditions, and rely on good conduct more than entitlement.
Hexagram 57
The Gentle Wind 巽
Gentle penetration
Persistent, subtle influence can reach places force cannot. Clarify the direction first, then reinforce it through repeated small actions.
Hexagram 58
The Joyous Lake 兑
Joyous exchange
Open communication and shared pleasure can strengthen connection. Keep exchange sincere so enjoyment does not become flattery or avoidance.
Hexagram 59
Dispersion 涣
Dispersion
Rigid separation can dissolve when attention returns to a larger shared center. Remove barriers that no longer serve and rebuild connection deliberately.
Hexagram 60
Limitation 节
Limitation
Useful limits create form and prevent waste. Make constraints clear and proportionate; rules that become oppressive undermine the order they were meant to protect.
Hexagram 61
Inner Truth 中孚
Inner truth
Trust grows from inward sincerity matched by outward consistency. Listen carefully, test assumptions, and let credibility emerge from congruent action.
Hexagram 62
Small Exceeding 小过
Small exceeding
The situation favors careful attention to modest matters rather than grand moves. Precision, humility, and manageable steps are safer than overreach.
Hexagram 63
After Completion 既济
After completion
A major transition has been achieved, but completion creates a new maintenance problem. Guard details and prevent success from turning into complacency.
Hexagram 64
Before Completion 未济
Before completion
The crossing is not finished. Keep distinctions clear, avoid premature celebration, and concentrate on the final conditions required for a sound transition.
Use the hexagrams in a reading
A hexagram is normally read in the context of a cast rather than selected as a standalone prediction. Start with the I Ching online three-coin tool, or use the yarrow stalk method or Mei Hua Yi Shu current-time method.