革Ge · Revolution
In one sentence
The time has come when things must change, but wait until the moment is ripe.
The hexagram of revolution: the old way no longer works. Change it rightly and properly, and regret vanishes. Prepare thoroughly first, and move only once everyone can see it clearly. That is how you will be trusted. When it is time to change, change. Do not drag it out, and do not jump the gun.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The old way of working, the old position, can't hold up any longer. A new direction, a new role, a reworked process all belong to this hexagram. But prepare fully first, and explain your reasons until others can see them, before you act. Forcing a change while no one believes in it won't work; dragging on once the time has come is wrong too.
- Love
- The old pattern between you two can't go on, and it has to change: either the way you treat each other, or the relationship itself. Don't have it out in the heat of anger; talk once both of you can see where the problem is. If the change is right, the earlier regret will fade. If you're single, what needs changing is your own old way of doing things.
- Money
- The old way of earning and the old spending habits need replacing. But before you switch, get the accounts straight and have a fallback ready; don't overturn everything on a surge of impulse. Change once you've seen clearly, and then change thoroughly. Don't drag it out and end up with neither.
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 wordsWhen a change first begins, nobody believes in it; only when the time has come will people be convinced. Things go through in a big way, and it is favorable to stay true. If the change is made the right way, regret vanishes.
The Tuan commentary
革，水火相息，二女同居，其志不相得，曰革。巳日乃孚，革而信之。文明以說，大亨以正，革而當，其悔乃亡。天地革而四時成，湯武革命，順乎天而應乎人，革之時大矣哉！
Ge: water and fire put each other out. Two women live together, but their purposes do not agree. This is called Ge. "Only when the day has come is there trust": one makes the change, and people trust it. Cultured and bright, and so joyful; great success through what is correct. When the change is fitting, "regret vanishes." Heaven and earth change, and the four seasons are completed. Tang and Wu changed the mandate; they followed heaven and answered to the people. Great indeed is the time of Ge.
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
澤中有火，革。君子以治曆明時。
Fire within the lake: Ge (Revolution). The noble one puts the calendar in order and makes the seasons clear.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text鞏用黃牛之革。Bound fast with the hide of a yellow ox.In plain wordsTie it down tight with yellow ox hide. It may be a time of change, but you are only starting out and nobody is answering you, so you cannot make a move yet. What is needed now is to hold on with all your might. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text巳日乃革之，征吉，无咎。When the day has come, then change it. To set forth brings good fortune. No blame.In plain wordsWait until that day arrives, then make the change. The conditions are ripe; going forward now brings good fortune, and there is no blame. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text征凶，貞厲。革言三就，有孚。To set forth brings misfortune. Persisting is dangerous. When talk of change has gone around three times, there is trust.In plain wordsRushing ahead brings misfortune; even if you are in the right, it is dangerous. The case for change has to be discussed over and over, three times, and hold up every time. Only then will people believe it, and only then can you change things. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text悔亡。有孚改命，吉。Regret vanishes. With trust, one changes the mandate. Good fortune.In plain wordsRegret vanishes. First win everyone's trust, then go and change the old rules. Good fortune. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text大人虎變，未占有孚。The great person changes like a tiger. Even before the divination, there is trust.In plain wordsThe great person is like a tiger in a new coat of fur, dazzling to look at. Before any oracle is consulted, people already believe in him. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text君子豹變，小人革面。征凶，居貞吉。The noble one changes like a leopard. The petty person changes his face. To set forth brings misfortune. Staying put and staying true brings good fortune.In plain wordsThe change is complete: the noble one is made new, like a leopard in a fresh coat, and even petty people change their expression to show they go along. Do not push any further now. Settle down and stay true: good fortune. Revolution is something done only when there is no other way; it must not be overdone. 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, Ge belongs to the first pentad of Grain Rain, “Duckweed appears” (April 20 to April 24, 2027).