| Name | 鼎 Dǐng, “The Cauldron” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☲ 离 Fire: clarity and attachment |
| Lower trigram | ☴ 巽 Wind: gentle, persistent influence |
The Judgment
元吉，亨。
Supreme fortune. Success.
Major peak. What you've cooked is finally ready to serve. Highest fortune.
The Image
木上有火，鼎；君子以正位凝命。
Fire over wood — The Cauldron. The wise consecrate their position and fulfill their destiny.
Treat your role as sacred. Whatever you've been given — show up to it like it matters.
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
鼎颠趾，利出否。得妾以其子，无咎。
A cauldron with legs upturned. Wise to expel the bad. One takes a concubine for her son's sake. No blame.
Sometimes flipping the whole thing upside down is how you clean it out. Unconventional moves can be right.
Line 2 · second · Yang
鼎有实，我仇有疾，不我能即，吉。
The cauldron has food. My enemies are envious — they cannot reach me. Fortune.
You have what you need. Haters can't touch you. Don't engage — just keep eating.
Line 3 · third · Yang
鼎耳革，其行塞，雉膏不食。方雨亏悔，终吉。
The cauldron handles are altered. One is hindered in one's actions. Pheasant fat is not eaten. Once rain falls — regret is finished. In the end — fortune.
Communication is off, things aren't being received the way you mean. Wait for the moment to clear — then everything tastes right again.
Line 4 · fourth · Yang
鼎折足，覆公餗，其形渥，凶。
The cauldron's legs break. The prince's meal is spilled. His person soiled. Misfortune.
Way over your weight class. The structure fails publicly. Painful — but a clear sign to stop trying to hold what isn't yours.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
鼎黄耳，金铉，利贞。
The cauldron has yellow handles, golden rings. Wise to stay true.
The whole thing is well-built, beautifully made. Stay grounded — keep tending to it carefully.
Line 6 · top · Yang
鼎玉铉，大吉，无不利。
The cauldron has jade handles. Great fortune. Nothing fails.
Highest quality. The smallest finishing touch — jade, not gold — is what makes it transcendent. Pure success.
Related hexagrams
- Inverted (turned upside down): Hexagram 49, Revolution
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning