In love
As a couple, Li stresses clarity between two people: say what you see, light up what remains in shadow, without dazzling the other.
Hexagram 30
I Ching hexagram 30: The Clinging (Li)
Li means the clinging, the flame that gives light: attaching yourself to what is right so you can see clearly and radiate.
- clarity
- attachment
- radiance
The essentials
Li at a glance
For you, Li invites you to attach yourself to what truly illuminates you: clarity feeds on what you choose to give it.
A strength
A lucidity that lights up the people around you, because it rests on something solid.
Something to watch
Burning out without being fed: a flame needs fuel, or the brilliance falls away.
- What it advises
- Choose what you attach yourself to, feed what illuminates, and stay flexible rather than imposing your vision.
- Its opposite
- 29. The Abysmal (Kan)
The situation
Li is doubled fire, a flame upon a flame. At the center of each trigram sits a broken line: the emptiness that welcomes the light. The Judgment shows clarity clinging to what carries it, like fire to its fuel.
It finds it favorable to be firm and upright, and adds a gentle image: nurturing a docility like that of a cow. Lucidity does not impose itself, it relies on patience.
The hexagram invites you to choose what you cling to, whether values, people, or ideas, since the clarity you reach depends on what you feed.
The image: Fire above Fire
- AboveFire: clarity that clings
- BelowFire: clarity that clings
Fire beneath Fire: one clarity following another. For the commentary on the image, light passed on from one to the next ends up illuminating the four horizons.
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) · solidFootsteps that cross and hesitate, but with respect: no fault is held against you. Stand seriously at the threshold of a new cycle.
- 2nd line · brokenA yellow light, the color of the golden mean: the greatest good fortune when clarity stays moderate and centered.
- 3rd line · solidA setting sun: people no longer beat the jar and sing, they lament old age. A dark omen, like a call to enjoy the present moment.
- 4th line · solidA fire that suddenly flares up, blazes, then dies out: a brilliance with no tomorrow, which nobody keeps. The momentum did not take time to be fed.
- 5th line · brokenTears flowing and sighs of sorrow: yet the judgment is fortunate. An emotion expressed brings release.
- 6th line (top) · solidThe king charges the person to lead an expedition: a measured success, punishing the leaders and sparing the crowd. Stay firm without relentlessness.
Li in your life
At work
Professionally, Li favors lucidity, a clear presentation of a project, visibility, and a role in which you illuminate rather than direct.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 離 (lí)
- Number
- 30 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Fire (離) above, Fire (離) below
- Inner hexagram
- 28. Preponderance of the Great (Da guo) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 30. The Clinging (Li)
- Symbol
- ䷝ (U+4DDD)
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 30
What does I Ching hexagram 30 mean?
Hexagram 30, Li, means clarity, the flame that clings: a lucidity that lights the way, but that must rest on something in order to last.
Which hexagram is the opposite of hexagram 30?
It is hexagram 29, Kan, The Abysmal: water that sinks, while Li is fire that rises. One passes through darkness, the other brings light into it.
Related hexagrams