How to Read an I Ching Hexagram Step by Step

You do not have to read every text

A hexagram has one judgment and six line statements, and if there is a resulting hexagram, seven more. You are not meant to read all dozen or so; which one to read is decided by the number of changing lines. This site follows Zhu Xi's seven rules: with no changing lines, read the judgment of the primary hexagram; with one, read that line; with two, read both changing lines, and the upper one governs; with three, read the judgments of both the primary and the resulting hexagram; with four or five, read the unchanging lines in the resulting hexagram; with all six changing, read the judgment of the resulting hexagram, or "All nines" and "All sixes" for Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth). For the details, see How to read changing lines.

The result page has already picked out the right text for you by these rules. Knowing why it is this one lets you read it with some confidence.

Five steps

1. Count the changing lines and find the text to read. 6 and 9 are changing lines; 7 and 8 do not change (see Old yin, old yang, young yin, young yang).
2. Read the original text first, then the plain reading. Read the original once even if you cannot make sense of it, and keep the image in mind; the plain reading tells you what the sentence is saying. This site's plain readings were written line by line against Zhu Xi's notes in the Zhouyi Benyi ("Original Meaning of the Zhouyi").
3. Look at the verdict words. Good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation, danger and no blame each carry their own weight; "favorable" followed by a condition means only "it is fitting to", and does not count as good fortune. See How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame.
4. Look at the primary and the resulting hexagram. The primary hexagram speaks of the present situation, the resulting hexagram of where things are heading; with no changing lines there is only the primary hexagram. See What are the primary, resulting and nuclear hexagrams?.
5. Come back to your own matter. What in my situation does the image in the text correspond to? Is it urging me to advance, to hold my ground, or to stop?

A walk-through: Kun (Exhaustion) going to Cui (Gathering)

Suppose the question is: a position has opened up in the department; should I go after it now? Six throws give 8, 9, 8, 7, 7, 8 (from the bottom line to the top line).

Step one. Only the second line is a 9, so one line changes. With Kan (Water) below and Dui (Lake) above, the primary hexagram is Kun (Exhaustion); the Nine in the second place turns to yin, the lower trigram becomes Kun (Earth), and the resulting hexagram is Cui (Gathering). With one changing line, read that line in the primary hexagram: the Nine in the second place of Kun (Exhaustion).

Hemmed in by wine and food. The scarlet sash is just arriving. It is favorable to make offerings and sacrifices. To set forth brings misfortune. No blame.

Step two. This site's plain reading of the line is: "Trapped by food and drink — too much of what you wanted has come, and it has turned into a burden. An appointment from above is on its way. It is fitting to receive it with a sincere heart, as at a sacrifice; going out to seek it brings misfortune. Wait calmly: no blame."

Step three. The verdict is "To set forth brings misfortune. No blame." When misfortune and no blame appear together, read it as misfortune that can be avoided: the misfortune lies in "setting forth", that is, in going out to seek it yourself; if you stay where you are, there is no fault. The "favorable" in "It is favorable to make offerings and sacrifices" means "it is fitting to", and the character 亨 (heng) stands here for 享 (xiang), an offering: the phrase says it is fitting to meet the matter with the sincerity of a sacrifice, and it is not a verdict of good fortune. The Nine in the second place is a yang line at the center of the lower trigram. The small Image commentary says, "'Hemmed in by wine and food': at the center there is cause for celebration", and the Tuan commentary says, "'Staying true: for the great person, good fortune': because the firm holds the center". Both have their eye on that one word, "center" (see How to read line positions).

Step four. The primary hexagram is Kun (Exhaustion). The Image says, "A lake without water: Kun (Exhaustion)", and the judgment also has the sentence "There are words, but they are not believed": resources are constrained, and whatever you say, no one believes it. That is the present situation. The resulting hexagram, Cui (Gathering), is a hexagram of gathering: where things are heading is that people and resources slowly come together.

Step five. Back to the question. The trap this line speaks of is not a lack of something, but being tripped up by what is right in front of you; what is due to come is already on its way, and going out to seek it yourself would only spoil things. Applied to this matter, its advice is to hold your ground: do not compete for the position, and put your heart into doing the work you have in hand well. The hexagram does not guarantee that the position will fall to you. What it gives is one angle from which to look at the matter; whether to heed it is still for you to decide.

Some common cases

• No changing lines: read only the judgment of the primary hexagram. The situation is stable, and no major turn is likely in the short term.
• Many changing lines: with three, read the two judgments; with four or five, read the unchanging lines in the resulting hexagram. The reasoning is that once more than half the lines change, the situation has already moved over to the resulting hexagram.
• The text does not fit my matter: do not force the literal words onto it. See what kind of situation the image is about (advancing and withdrawing, waiting, conflict, gathering and parting), then see what attitude it takes. If it still does not fit, put it down, and do not cast another hexagram.
• You read misfortune: misfortune says that if you carry on as you are, there will be loss. It is a warning, not a sentence. The text often says in the same breath how it can be avoided.

Every hexagram and every line has its own page on this site, with the original text, the plain reading and the Tuan and Image commentaries; find them from The 64 hexagrams. For what kinds of question yield a useful reading, see How to ask the I Ching a question.