恆Heng · Endurance
In one sentence
This one is won by lasting.
A hexagram of lasting: stability and continuity make things go through. But lasting doesn't mean clinging rigidly without change; the direction stays the same while the methods may change. Once you are sure, stick with it; don't switch every few days. Going forward is favorable. Don't demand too much depth or too much right at the outset.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- This work is not won by a burst of effort but by lasting. Once you are sure of the direction, keep at it, and do not change goals or trades every few days. The direction stays the same while the methods can adjust to circumstances; clinging rigidly to old methods is not endurance. Going forward is favorable. At the start, do not demand too much or go too deep; add to it step by step.
- Love
- The relationship has reached the stage where lasting is what matters: steady, day-after-day life together is what it looks like at its best. Keep your heart toward each other unchanged, while the way you live together can adjust as the days go by. Demanding that the other person hand over everything and promise a lifetime when you have only just gotten together will spoil things instead. If you are single, look for someone you can share a long life with, and be patient.
- Money
- Money is built up through long-term, steady practice: regular income, regular saving, regular rules, unbroken year after year. Do not have one idea today and another tomorrow. The principles stay the same while the specific methods can adjust to circumstances. Wanting something big and fast right from the start is exactly how you fail to keep it.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsThings go through, there is no blame, and it is favorable to stay true. If you can keep to the right course for the long run, it is favorable to undertake something.
The Tuan commentary
恆，久也。剛上而柔下，雷風相與，巽而動，剛柔皆應，恆。恆亨无咎，利貞；久于其道也，天地之道，恆久而不已也。利有攸往，終則有始也。日月得天，而能久照，四時變化，而能久成，聖人久于其道，而天下化成；觀其所恆，而天地萬物之情可見矣！
Heng means lasting long. The firm is above and the yielding below. Thunder and wind work together. Gentle, and in movement. The firm and the yielding all respond: Heng. "Heng. Success. No blame. It is favorable to stay true": one lasts long in one's way. The way of heaven and earth lasts long and never stops. "It is favorable to have somewhere to go": where there is an end there is a beginning. The sun and moon have heaven, and so can shine for long. The four seasons change and transform, and so can complete things for long. The sage lasts long in his way, and all under heaven is transformed and completed. Contemplate what endures, and the true nature of heaven, earth and all things can be seen.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
雷風恆。君子以立不易方。
Thunder and wind: Heng (Endurance). The noble one stands firm and does not change direction.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text浚恆，貞凶，无攸利。Digging deep for endurance. Persisting brings misfortune. Nothing is favorable.In plain wordsSeeking depth right from the start. The relationship is still shallow, yet you hold the other person to the standard of an old friendship; even if you have a point, it brings misfortune, and there is no good in it at all. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text悔亡。Regret vanishes.In plain wordsRegret has vanished. The position was not quite right to begin with, but you can hold to the middle way for the long run. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text不恆其德，或承之羞，貞吝。Not enduring in his virtue, he may be handed disgrace. Persisting brings humiliation.In plain wordsYou can't keep up your virtue over time, and there is no telling when someone will bring disgrace to your door. Even if what you are doing is right, without constancy it is embarrassing. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text田无禽。No game in the field.In plain wordsOut hunting, and not a single catch. Stay for long in a position that isn't yours, and whatever you seek, you won't get. More on this line →
Six in the fifth place
Text恆其德，貞。婦人吉，夫子凶。Enduring in one's virtue, staying true. For a wife, good fortune; for a husband, misfortune.In plain wordsKeeping to the virtue of compliance over the long run is correct. For someone whose role is to assist and cooperate, good fortune; for someone who needs to make their own decisions, misfortune. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text振恆，凶。Restless endurance. Misfortune.In plain wordsRestlessness has been taken for the normal state. Misfortune. Not a moment of stillness, and nothing can be held on to. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Heng belongs to the third pentad of Major Heat, “Great rains fall” (August 2 to August 7, 2027) and the first pentad of Start of Autumn, “Cool winds arrive” (August 8 to August 12, 2027).