The I Ching: the 64 hexagrams
The I Ching is a book of advice: each of its 64 hexagrams describes a situation and the conduct that suits it.
- 64 hexagrams
- I Ching
- Book of Changes
The 64 hexagrams
- 1QianThe Creative
- 2KunThe Receptive
- 3ZhunDifficulty at the Beginning
- 4MengYouthful Folly
- 5XuWaiting
- 6SongConflict
- 7ShiThe Army
- 8BiHolding Together
- 9Xiao xuThe Taming Power of the Small
- 10LuTreading
- 11TaiPeace
- 12PiStandstill
- 13Tong renFellowship with Men
- 14Da youPossession in Great Measure
- 15QianModesty
- 16YuEnthusiasm
- 17SuiFollowing
- 18GuWork on What Has Been Spoiled
- 19LinApproach
- 20GuanContemplation
- 21Shi keBiting Through
- 22BiGrace
- 23BoSplitting Apart
- 24FuReturn
- 25Wu wangInnocence
- 26Da xuThe Taming Power of the Great
- 27YiThe Corners of the Mouth
- 28Da guoPreponderance of the Great
- 29KanThe Abysmal
- 30LiThe Clinging
- 31XianInfluence
- 32HengDuration
- 33DunRetreat
- 34Da zhuangThe Power of the Great
- 35JinProgress
- 36Ming yiDarkening of the Light
- 37Jia renThe Family
- 38KuiOpposition
- 39JianObstruction
- 40JieDeliverance
- 41SunDecrease
- 42YiIncrease
- 43GuaiBreakthrough
- 44GouComing to Meet
- 45CuiGathering Together
- 46ShengPushing Upward
- 47KunOppression
- 48JingThe Well
- 49GeRevolution
- 50DingThe Cauldron
- 51ZhenThe Arousing
- 52GenKeeping Still
- 53JianDevelopment
- 54Gui meiThe Marrying Maiden
- 55FengAbundance
- 56LuThe Wanderer
- 57XunThe Gentle
- 58DuiThe Joyous
- 59HuanDispersion
- 60JieLimitation
- 61Zhong fuInner Truth
- 62Xiao guoPreponderance of the Small
- 63Ji jiAfter Completion
- 64Wei jiBefore Completion
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
Reading a hexagram
A hexagram is read in three steps. Its situation first: what the figure describes about the moment. Its image next, made of two trigrams, one under the other, like Heaven under Earth. Its six lines last, read from bottom to top, which detail the stages of the situation.
When a line is changing, it turns into its opposite and gives a second hexagram: the first describes the starting point, the second the direction of change.
The texts and their translations
The Chinese text is ancient and open to interpretation. The translations by James Legge, in English, and by Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre, in French, both from the 19th century, are in the public domain.
Versana’s texts are written from these sources, without borrowing the recent translations, which are still protected.
The eight trigrams
- Heaventhe force that creates
- Lakejoy that is shared
- Fireclarity that clings
- Thunderthe shock that awakens
- Windgentleness that penetrates
- Waterthe risky passage
- Mountainthe stillness that steadies
- Earththe welcome that carries
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
Frequently asked questions about the I Ching
What does I Ching mean?
I Ching, or Yijing, means “Book of Changes.” This very old Chinese text has a core going back to the 1st millennium BCE; commentaries were added to it afterward.
How do I consult the I Ching with three coins?
You toss three coins six times, with heads worth 3 and tails 2. Each toss gives one line, from bottom to top: 7 or 9 for a solid line, 6 or 8 for a broken line, with 6 and 9 being changing.
What is a changing line?
A line that scores 6 or 9 is in the process of changing: it turns into its opposite and forms a second hexagram. The text of that line then counts for more in the reading.