| Name | 离 Lí, “The Clinging” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☲ 离 Fire: clarity and attachment |
| Lower trigram | ☲ 离 Fire: clarity and attachment |
The Judgment
利贞，亨。畜牝牛，吉。
Stay true — success. Caring for the cow brings fortune.
Stay clear about what you're attached to. Nurture what matters — quietly, patiently. That's where the brightness lives.
The Image
明两作，离；大人以继明照于四方。
Brightness rises twice — The Clinging. The great one continues the brightness, illuminating the four directions.
Light passed from one to the next. Your job is to carry the brightness forward, not just hold it.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yang
履错然，敬之，无咎。
Steps confused. With reverence — no blame.
Start of the day, mind scattered. Pause, get clear about your direction. Then move.
Line 2 · second · Yin
黄离，元吉。
Yellow light. Supreme fortune.
Centered, balanced brightness. Pure peak energy — this is the day you build on.
Line 3 · third · Yang
日昃之离，不鼓缶而歌，则大耋之嗟，凶。
In the light of the setting sun. Either drum on a pot and sing, or wail like an old man. Misfortune.
Sun is going down on something. You can either accept it gracefully or rage against it. The rage is misfortune.
Line 4 · fourth · Yang
突如其来如，焚如，死如，弃如。
Sudden — like a comet. Burning out, dying, cast aside.
Burning too hot. People who blaze like this get used up fast and discarded. Pace yourself.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
出涕沱若，戚嗟若，吉。
Weeping in streams, sorrowing and sighing. Fortune.
Real grief. Don't suppress it — feel it through. That's actually how fortune arrives here.
Line 6 · top · Yang
王用出征，有嘉折首，获匪其丑，无咎。
The king goes to chastise. The best — beheading the leaders, sparing their followers. No blame.
When you have to confront something, cut at the root. Don't punish everyone who got caught up in it.
Related hexagrams
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 29, The Abysmal