In love
Kun makes listening and support the key to the bond: leave room for the other, without disappearing yourself.
Hexagram 2
I Ching hexagram 2: The Receptive (Kun)
Kun, the Receptive, is the hexagram of supportive welcome: following rather than leading, and letting things ripen.
- receptivity
- support
- patience
The essentials
Kun at a glance
For you, Kun signals a time to welcome and carry: leave the initiative to others and offer steady support.
A strength
A capacity to welcome, support, and sustain, without needing to put yourself forward.
Something to watch
Letting yourself be carried until you no longer choose anything: welcome then becomes plain dependence.
- What it advises
- Support rather than direct, welcome what comes, and stay constant in the small gestures that hold a whole together.
- Its opposite
- 1. The Creative (Qian)
The situation
Kun is the hexagram of the earth: six broken lines, no point, all receptivity. The ancient text compares it to the mare, sturdy and docile, which covers great distances without ever forcing the pace.
It spells out a way of conducting yourself: whoever takes the initiative goes astray, whoever follows finds a guide. The hexagram does not praise passivity; it describes the art of leaning on what exists, supporting a project larger than yourself, and letting things come to maturity.
The text also speaks of friends gained on one side and lost on the other. It invites you to stay steady and constant, and sees in this quiet firmness a source of good fortune.
The image: Earth above Earth
- AboveEarth: the welcome that carries
- BelowEarth: the welcome that carries
Six broken lines: Earth beneath Earth. The ancient commentaries admire this expanse that carries everything without choosing, and suggest imitating its breadth by supporting beings with a generous virtue.
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
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · brokenTreading on frost: thick ice is not far off. The ancient text invites you to notice small signs before they settle in.
- 2nd line · brokenStraight, square, great: nothing needs forcing. What is right by nature bears fruit without repeated effort, and everything becomes favorable.
- 3rd line · brokenKeeping your qualities in the background, without displaying them: in the service of another, you bring the matter to a good end without claiming the credit.
- 4th line · brokenA tied-up sack: nothing is said, nothing is shown. Neither blame nor praise; discretion protects in a delicate period.
- 5th line · brokenThe yellow garment of the lower part: the outcome is judged very fortunate, when modesty accompanies a high position.
- 6th line (top) · brokenDragons fight in the meadow, their blood dark and yellow: when a force wants to dominate without keeping to its place, everyone suffers.
Kun in your life
At work
The supporting role is honored: assist, prepare, maintain, rather than taking the lead of an enterprise.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 坤 (kūn)
- Number
- 2 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Earth (坤) above, Earth (坤) below
- Inner hexagram
- 2. The Receptive (Kun) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 2. The Receptive (Kun)
- Symbol
- ䷁ (U+4DC1)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 2
What does hexagram 2 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 2, Kun, means the receptive earth: a time to welcome, support, and let things ripen, following rather than leading.
What does Kun say when all six lines change?
The ancient text adds a line specific to this case: if you stay constant and upright, the benefit comes. It then describes a receptivity that holds over time.
Related hexagrams