| Name | 升 Shēng, “Pushing Upward” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☷ 坤 Earth: receptivity and support |
| Lower trigram | ☴ 巽 Wind: gentle, persistent influence |
The Judgment
元亨。用见大人，勿恤。南征吉。
Supreme success. Wise to meet the great person. Do not worry. Going south — fortune.
Steady upward climb. Don't anxious-spiral. Move toward warmth and openness.
The Image
地中生木，升；君子以顺德，积小以高大。
Wood grows out of the earth — Pushing Upward. The wise, with devoted character, accumulate the small to attain the high and great.
Real growth is slow accumulation. Tiny steps every day. The tall tree was once a seed.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yin
允升，大吉。
Pushing upward that meets with confidence. Great fortune.
First step up, and people back you. That endorsement carries the rest of the climb.
Line 2 · second · Yang
孚乃利用禴，无咎。
If one is sincere, even a small offering brings no blame.
When the heart is real, the gesture doesn't have to be expensive. Sincerity scales up everything.
Line 3 · third · Yang
升虚邑。
One pushes upward into an empty city.
Easy advance — no resistance. Almost too easy. Don't get cocky just because nothing's pushing back.
Line 4 · fourth · Yin
王用亨于岐山，吉，无咎。
The king offers sacrifice on Mount Qi. Fortune. No blame.
Reaching a place of real responsibility. Honor it with proper ritual. Fortune holds when you stay reverent.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
贞吉，升阶。
Stay true — fortune. Pushing upward by steps.
Step by step is right. Don't skip rungs. Each one earned makes the next one stable.
Line 6 · top · Yin
冥升。利于不息之贞。
Pushing upward in darkness. Wise to stay true ceaselessly.
Climbing without recognition, alone in the dark. Keep going. Discipline is the only light here.
Related hexagrams
- Inverted (turned upside down): Hexagram 45, Gathering Together
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 25, Innocence