Hexagram of the I Ching
A hexagram of the I Ching is a symbolic figure made of six horizontal lines (broken or solid) that represents one of the 64 fundamental archetypal situations of the Chinese oracle. Each hexagram has a name, an image, a judgement and a commentary on each of its six lines.
Origin in the I Ching
Hexagrams come from the combination of two trigrams (three-line figures) — one upper and one lower. There are 8 base trigrams (the famous "Bagua") that represent natural elements: heaven, earth, fire, water, mountain, lake, thunder, wind. By combining 8 × 8, the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching arise. Each combination of trigrams describes a specific dynamic of energies in interaction.
The lines, broken (yin, ⚋) or solid (yang, ⚊), are read from bottom to top (the lower line is the first, the upper one is the sixth). When in a consultation a line is "mutating" (extreme yin that becomes yang, or extreme yang that becomes yin), it transforms: the original hexagram changes to another one called derived hexagram. The reading combines: situation now (original hexagram) + energy in transformation (mutating lines) + tendency (derived hexagram).
Structure of a hexagram
Each of the 64 hexagrams has: name (e.g.: 1. Qián / The Creative; 2. Kūn / The Receptive; 11. Tài / Peace; 12. Pǐ / Stagnation; 64. Wèi Jì / Before Completion). Image: synthetic description of the natural situation it represents. Judgement: general advice for the situation. Six lines: each one with specific commentary depending on its position and quality.
The hexagrams are not "good" or "bad". They describe energy phases: some periods are of action, others of waiting, others of withdrawal, others of expansion. Even hexagrams that may seem unfavourable (like 12 Stagnation, 23 Splitting Apart, 47 Oppression) describe necessary phases that, well managed, become evolution. The wisdom of the I Ching is to know the right action for each phase.
Reading hexagrams
When you consult the I Ching, the result is a hexagram (and possibly a derived one with mutating lines). Reading it requires patience. 1) Read the name and image: capture the energy. 2) Read the general judgement applied to your question. 3) Read each mutating line — these are the precise points of energetic action. 4) Look at the derived hexagram if there are mutations: the tendency. The I Ching does not give "yes/no" answers; it offers a wise vision of the moment to act with consciousness.
Also known as
- Hexagram
- Yi Jing figure
- Six-line hexagram