鼎Ding · The Cauldron
In one sentence
A new order is being set up. Great good fortune.
The cauldron is a weighty vessel for cooking and also a symbol of authority: the old is cleared away and the new is made. Stand firmly in your own position and take on what is yours to carry. Give real responsibility to capable people.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- A new situation is being set up, and you have a place in it. Stand firmly in that place, carry what is yours to carry, and don't push it off on others. A cauldron stands on several legs together: bringing capable people in and putting them to real use is better than holding everything up alone.
- Love
- The relationship is suited to moving toward something formal and stable: set each other's place right, and each carry your own share. The old unhappiness can be poured out, and a fresh pot cooked. If you're single, get your own life standing firmly first, then think about taking another person in.
- Money
- Money spent on nourishing people and real work is worth it: don't be stingy with what should go into proper business and capable people. The condition is a steady base; once a leg of the cauldron breaks, everything inside spills. So make the basic part solid first, then talk about building something new.
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 in a big way.
The Tuan commentary
鼎，象也。以木巽火，亨飪也。聖人亨以享上帝，而大亨以養聖賢。巽而耳目聰明，柔進而上行，得中而應乎剛，是以元亨。
Ding is an image. Wood is fed into fire: this is cooking. The sage cooks to make offerings to the Lord on High, and cooks in abundance to nourish the sages and the worthy. Gentle, with ears and eyes sharp and clear; the yielding advances and moves upward, holds the center and answers the firm. That is why there is great success.
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
木上有火，鼎。君子以正位凝命。
Fire over wood: Ding (The Cauldron). The noble one sets the position right and makes the mandate firm.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text鼎顛趾，利出否。得妾以其子，无咎。The cauldron is tipped over, feet in the air. It is favorable for getting the foul stuff out. One takes a concubine and gains a son by her. No blame.In plain wordsThe cauldron is turned completely upside down, which is just the way to pour out the filth that has built up inside. That is favorable. It is like taking a concubine and gaining a son because of it: no blame. Good luck comes out of bad, success out of failure. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text鼎有實，我仇有疾，不我能即，吉。The cauldron is full. My counterpart has an ailment and cannot get near me. Good fortune.In plain wordsThe cauldron is filled with good things. The person beside me, whose tie to me is not a proper one, has something wrong with him, but he cannot get close to me. Good fortune. You have something real, and you can keep yourself intact. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text鼎耳革，其行塞，雉膏不食。方雨虧悔，終吉。The cauldron's ears are changed and it cannot be moved. The rich pheasant meat is not eaten. When the rain comes, regret lessens. Good fortune in the end.In plain wordsThe cauldron's ears are out of shape and it cannot be carried; nobody gets to eat the rich pheasant meat inside. You have real ability, but for now it is not being used. Hold on to yourself and wait for the rain that comes when yin and yang are in harmony. Then regret grows less, and in the end there is good fortune. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text鼎折足，覆公餗，其形渥，凶。The cauldron's leg breaks. The duke's meal is spilled and the person is drenched. Misfortune.In plain wordsThe cauldron's leg snaps, the duke's fine food is spilled, and you end up in a sorry mess yourself (another reading: you suffer a heavy punishment). Misfortune. Small strength, a heavy load, and on top of that the wrong people were relied on. More on this line →
Six in the fifth place
Text鼎黃耳金鉉，利貞。The cauldron has yellow ears and a metal carrying bar. It is favorable to stay true.In plain wordsThe cauldron is fitted with yellow ears and a metal bar. You yourself are open-minded and centered, and you have strong people to lift you up. Stay true; it is favorable. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text鼎玉鉉，大吉，无不利。The cauldron has a jade carrying bar. Great good fortune. Nothing that is not favorable.In plain wordsThe cauldron is fitted with a bar of jade. Hard, yet warm and smooth. Great good fortune; nothing that is not favorable. 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, Ding belongs to the third pentad of Summer Solstice, “Crow-dipper sprouts” (July 1 to July 6, 2027) and the first pentad of Minor Heat, “Warm winds arrive” (July 7 to July 11, 2027).