The 64 I Ching Hexagrams: Complete List with Meanings

The 64 I Ching hexagrams are six-line figures, numbered in the King Wen sequence, and each one

names a shape that change takes: beginnings, waiting, conflict, harvest, standstill, breakthrough.

This page holds all sixty-four with a real meaning beside each number, so you can find your cast

without clicking through sixty-four doors.

How to use this page

If you have just cast with coins, you arrived with six lines built bottom to top. Scan the table

for the name that matches your figure, then jump to its block below for the plain meaning.

Each block gives the hexagram’s working keywords and the heart of its counsel; the full judgment,

image, and line-by-line texts are the deep layer we read from in a full consultation. If you have

not cast yet, the coin method guide takes ten minutes, and the

I Ching overview explains what the oracle is actually doing.

A note on reading anything below as an answer: the I Ching speaks in counsel, never verdict. Every

meaning on this page describes a tendency in a situation, and the situation includes you.

The full list at a glance

#	Hexagram	Pinyin	In a phrase
1	The Creative	Qian	pure initiative, heaven, sustained force
2	The Receptive	Kun	yielding strength, earth, devotion
3	Difficulty at the Beginning	Zhun	chaotic start, sprouting, perseverance
4	Youthful Folly	Meng	inexperience, teachability, asking rightly
5	Waiting	Xu	nourished patience, timing, trust
6	Conflict	Song	dispute, knowing when not to fight
7	The Army	Shi	discipline, organized effort, leadership
8	Holding Together	Bi	alliance, belonging, choosing your people
9	Small Taming	Xiao Chu	small restraints, gradual influence
10	Treading	Lu	conduct, walking carefully among power
11	Peace	Tai	flow, heaven and earth in commerce
12	Standstill	Pi	stagnation, withdrawal, wrong people in power
13	Fellowship	Tong Ren	community in the open, shared aim
14	Great Possession	Da You	abundance, stewardship of much
15	Modesty	Qian	understatement that completes, leveling
16	Enthusiasm	Yu	momentum, music, readiness that moves others
17	Following	Sui	adapting, earning followership, rest
18	Work on the Decayed	Gu	repairing what was spoiled, inherited mess
19	Approach	Lin	favorable advance, window that closes
20	Contemplation	Guan	observing, being observed, the tower view
21	Biting Through	Shi He	decisive justice, removing the obstacle
22	Grace	Bi	form, adornment, beauty that is not substance
23	Splitting Apart	Bo	erosion, collapse of the old, do not act
24	Return	Fu	turning point, the light comes back
25	Innocence	Wu Wang	the unexpected, acting without calculation
26	Great Taming	Da Chu	stored power, holding firm, charged stillness
27	Nourishment	Yi	what feeds you, watch what fills the mouth
28	Great Exceeding	Da Guo	the beam sags, extraordinary times
29	The Abysmal	Kan	water, repeated danger, sincerity in the deep
30	The Clinging	Li	fire, clarity that depends, illumination
31	Influence	Xian	attraction, wooing, mutual response
32	Duration	Heng	endurance, the long marriage, constancy
33	Retreat	Dun	strategic withdrawal, dignity in distance
34	Great Power	Da Zhuang	strength, the ram, power needing restraint
35	Progress	Jin	rising sun, recognition, advance
36	Darkening of the Light	Ming Yi	injury to the bright, guarding inner light
37	The Family	Jia Ren	household, roles, words with substance
38	Opposition	Kui	estrangement, small matters succeed
39	Obstruction	Jian	the mountain pass, turning inward, seeking help
40	Deliverance	Jie	release, the thaw, forgive quickly
41	Decrease	Sun	simplification, sacrifice that enriches
42	Increase	Yi	gain, generosity from above, seize the time
43	Breakthrough	Guai	resolution, naming the wrong openly
44	Coming to Meet	Gou	the unexpected encounter, tempting influence
45	Gathering Together	Cui	assembly, collected strength, the rallying point
46	Pushing Upward	Sheng	steady ascent, effort that accumulates
47	Oppression	Kun	exhaustion, words not believed, inner resolve
48	The Well	Jing	the unchanging source, maintenance of depth
49	Revolution	Ge	molting, change when the day comes
50	The Cauldron	Ding	transformation, nourishing the able
51	The Arousing	Zhen	thunder, shock, composure in upheaval
52	Keeping Still	Gen	mountain, stopping, stillness of the back
53	Development	Jian	gradual progress, the tree on the mountain
54	The Marrying Maiden	Gui Mei	entering on unequal terms, knowing your place in it
55	Abundance	Feng	zenith, fullness that cannot last, act now
56	The Wanderer	Lu	the stranger, traveling light, no fixed claim
57	The Gentle	Xun	wind, penetration by persistence, subtle influence
58	The Joyous	Dui	lake, shared joy, encouragement among friends
59	Dispersion	Huan	dissolving rigidity, scattering the blocked
60	Limitation	Jie	measure, limits that liberate, bitter limits fail
61	Inner Truth	Zhong Fu	sincerity that reaches, the empty heart
62	Small Exceeding	Xiao Guo	small things done well, stay low
63	After Completion	Ji Ji	achieved order, vigilance at the finish
64	Before Completion	Wei Ji	the threshold, careful as the fox on ice

Hexagrams 1 to 8: The Creative to Holding Together

1. The Creative (Qian)

pure initiative, heaven, sustained force.

Creative force is available to you now, and the road in front of it is open.

2. The Receptive (Kun)

yielding strength, earth, devotion.

This is not a moment for pushing your own agenda forward but for receiving what is given and responding with care.

3. Difficulty at the Beginning (Zhun)

chaotic start, sprouting, perseverance.

Things feel tangled right now because this is genuinely the hardest part: the beginning, when nothing has taken clear shape yet.

4. Youthful Folly (Meng)

inexperience, teachability, asking rightly.

You are not yet fully equipped for what you are facing, and that is not a flaw but a condition.

5. Waiting (Xu)

nourished patience, timing, trust.

Something you need is ahead of you, not available yet.

6. Conflict (Song)

dispute, knowing when not to fight.

There is genuine friction here, and the positions feel real and opposed.

7. The Army (Shi)

discipline, organized effort, leadership.

Collective effort is required, and collective effort requires someone who can be trusted to hold the whole thing together.

8. Holding Together (Bi)

alliance, belonging, choosing your people.

You are being asked to consider who you are truly aligned with and whether the bonds you are in are ones you would choose again.

Hexagrams 9 to 16: Small Taming to Enthusiasm

9. Small Taming (Xiao Chu)

small restraints, gradual influence.

You cannot force the large thing to move yet, so you work on what yields to you.

10. Treading (Lu)

conduct, walking carefully among power.

You are stepping where something much stronger than you is present, and conduct is the whole of what protects you.

11. Peace (Tai)

flow, heaven and earth in commerce.

Heaven and earth are in exchange with each other, and because of that the world feels alive and tended.

12. Standstill (Pi)

stagnation, withdrawal, wrong people in power.

Heaven and earth have stopped speaking to each other, and the result is a time when the wrong forces hold the field.

13. Fellowship (Tong Ren)

community in the open, shared aim.

People gathered around a shared aim, and the gathering is open rather than exclusive: that is the force here.

14. Great Possession (Da You)

abundance, stewardship of much.

You are in possession of much, whether in resources, influence, gifts, or opportunity, and the hexagram is entirely about what that asks of you rather than what it gives you.

15. Modesty (Qian)

understatement that completes, leveling.

Modesty here is not self-deprecation; it is the actual practice of not taking more than your share of space, credit, or certainty.

16. Enthusiasm (Yu)

momentum, music, readiness that moves others.

Something has come alive in you and in the people around you, a readiness that does not need to be argued into existence.

Hexagrams 17 to 24: Following to Return

17. Following (Sui)

adapting, earning followership, rest.

You are in a moment that asks you to follow something larger than your own agenda: the time, the person in front of you, what is genuinely needed.

18. Work on the Decayed (Gu)

repairing what was spoiled, inherited mess.

Something has been let go long enough that it has gone wrong: a relationship, a project, a pattern of behavior, possibly something you inherited rather than created.

19. Approach (Lin)

favorable advance, window that closes.

Conditions are genuinely favorable right now and that is worth taking seriously.

20. Contemplation (Guan)

observing, being observed, the tower view.

You are in a position of observation, and both directions of that word are active: you are watching, and you are being watched.

21. Biting Through (Shi He)

decisive justice, removing the obstacle.

Something stands in the way and it will not move on its own.

22. Grace (Bi)

form, adornment, beauty that is not substance.

Form and beauty have a real place, and the hexagram honors them, but it also marks their limits.

23. Splitting Apart (Bo)

erosion, collapse of the old, do not act.

The ground is being eaten away from below, and this is not a moment to push forward or to fight what is falling apart.

24. Return (Fu)

turning point, the light comes back.

The darkest point has passed and something that was suppressed or absent is beginning to come back, quietly, at the root.

Hexagrams 25 to 32: Innocence to Duration

25. Innocence (Wu Wang)

the unexpected, acting without calculation.

You are asked to act without an agenda, without staging the outcome or angling for advantage.

26. Great Taming (Da Chu)

stored power, holding firm, charged stillness.

Great energy has been gathered and is being held in check, the way a mountain holds back the sky.

27. Nourishment (Yi)

what feeds you, watch what fills the mouth.

Pay close attention to what you are taking in and what you are putting out: food, words, thoughts, and the company you keep all shape you more than you may realize.

28. Great Exceeding (Da Guo)

the beam sags, extraordinary times.

The structure is under more weight than it was built for, and you know it.

29. The Abysmal (Kan)

water, repeated danger, sincerity in the deep.

You have entered a stretch where difficulty keeps returning, one current after another.

30. The Clinging (Li)

fire, clarity that depends, illumination.

Fire gives light and warmth but cannot exist without what it burns.

31. Influence (Xian)

attraction, wooing, mutual response.

Genuine influence does not push; it draws.

32. Duration (Heng)

endurance, the long marriage, constancy.

What lasts is not rigid but deeply rooted.

Hexagrams 33 to 40: Retreat to Deliverance

33. Retreat (Dun)

strategic withdrawal, dignity in distance.

The situation has shifted and pressing forward costs more than it returns.

34. Great Power (Da Zhuang)

strength, the ram, power needing restraint.

Real power has accumulated and the temptation to throw it all at once is strong.

35. Progress (Jin)

rising sun, recognition, advance.

The sun climbs the horizon and the path ahead is lit.

36. Darkening of the Light (Ming Yi)

injury to the bright, guarding inner light.

The light is genuinely under pressure here: the conditions outside are difficult, and clarity or goodness may not be safe to display openly.

37. The Family (Jia Ren)

household, roles, words with substance.

Order within the close circle creates the conditions for everything outside it.

38. Opposition (Kui)

estrangement, small matters succeed.

Two things that belong to different natures are facing each other, and the friction between them is real.

39. Obstruction (Jian)

the mountain pass, turning inward, seeking help.

The path forward is genuinely blocked, and this hexagram does not pretend the obstacle is easy or small.

40. Deliverance (Jie)

release, the thaw, forgive quickly.

The difficulty has passed and the pressure is releasing; this is a genuine turning.

Hexagrams 41 to 48: Decrease to The Well

41. Decrease (Sun)

simplification, sacrifice that enriches.

Something is being reduced, and the reduction itself is the right move.

42. Increase (Yi)

gain, generosity from above, seize the time.

The conditions are unusually favorable and the window will not stay open indefinitely.

43. Breakthrough (Guai)

resolution, naming the wrong openly.

Something that has been allowed to persist must now be addressed and named plainly in the right setting.

44. Coming to Meet (Gou)

the unexpected encounter, tempting influence.

Something arrives without being invited and comes with an appeal that is hard to dismiss.

45. Gathering Together (Cui)

assembly, collected strength, the rallying point.

People or energies are converging, and the quality of what gathers depends on what calls them.

46. Pushing Upward (Sheng)

steady ascent, effort that accumulates.

Progress is available here, and it is the kind that comes through consistent, unhurried effort rather than a single decisive move.

47. Oppression (Kun)

exhaustion, words not believed, inner resolve.

This is a genuinely hard moment: resources are depleted, words are not landing, and the usual ways of moving forward are blocked.

48. The Well (Jing)

the unchanging source, maintenance of depth.

The source is there and it does not move; what changes is whether the rope is long enough and the bucket is sound.

Hexagrams 49 to 56: Revolution to The Wanderer

49. Revolution (Ge)

molting, change when the day comes.

Revolution is not undertaken lightly, and this hexagram asks you to be certain the time has actually come before you move.

50. The Cauldron (Ding)

transformation, nourishing the able.

The cauldron cooks raw material into nourishment, and this hexagram asks what you are refining and who you are feeding.

51. The Arousing (Zhen)

thunder, shock, composure in upheaval.

Thunder arrives suddenly and the first response is fear, but after the sound passes, ordinary life returns and you can laugh at how startled you were.

52. Keeping Still (Gen)

mountain, stopping, stillness of the back.

There is a time to move and a time to stop, and this hexagram asks you to know which time this is.

53. Development (Jian)

gradual progress, the tree on the mountain.

The wild goose does not arrive all at once; it lands at each resting place in turn, and the right sequence matters as much as the destination.

54. The Marrying Maiden (Gui Mei)

entering on unequal terms, knowing your place in it.

You have entered a situation or a relationship where you do not hold the central position, and this hexagram asks whether you can find steadiness and even satisfaction within that asymmetry.

55. Abundance (Feng)

zenith, fullness that cannot last, act now.

This is a peak moment, and this hexagram asks you to recognize it as such and act while the conditions are present.

56. The Wanderer (Lu)

the stranger, traveling light, no fixed claim.

You are in unfamiliar territory, without the support structure that usually holds you, and this hexagram asks you to meet that condition with lightness and care rather than trying to plant roots that the ground here cannot hold.

Hexagrams 57 to 64: The Gentle to Before Completion

57. The Gentle (Xun)

wind, penetration by persistence, subtle influence.

The wind does not break what it bends; it works its way in through repetition, finding every gap.

58. The Joyous (Dui)

lake, shared joy, encouragement among friends.

Joy here is not the relief of getting what you wanted but the living quality of genuine exchange between people who are honest with each other.

59. Dispersion (Huan)

dissolving rigidity, scattering the blocked.

What has hardened and closed needs to be dissolved before anything new can form.

60. Limitation (Jie)

measure, limits that liberate, bitter limits fail.

Limits are not the enemy of freedom; without them, energy disperses and nothing is completed.

61. Inner Truth (Zhong Fu)

sincerity that reaches, the empty heart.

When your center is genuinely clear, with no hidden agenda and nothing you are holding back, something in that openness reaches people who would not otherwise listen.

62. Small Exceeding (Xiao Guo)

small things done well, stay low.

This is not the moment for grand gestures or large ambitions; it is a time when the small, careful, close-at-hand action is exactly what is needed.

63. After Completion (Ji Ji)

achieved order, vigilance at the finish.

Things are in order and the work has come through, but this is not the moment to relax into completion as if the arrangement will hold on its own.

64. Before Completion (Wei Ji)

the threshold, careful as the fox on ice.

You are close, but close is not across.

Questions people ask

How many hexagrams are there? Sixty-four: every possible stack of six solid or broken lines.

Why are they numbered this way? The traditional ordering is the King Wen sequence, named for

the Zhou founder-figure credited with arranging it. The sequence largely moves in paired opposites

and has carried the numbering for roughly three thousand years.

What is the difference between a trigram and a hexagram? A trigram is three lines and there

are eight of them; a hexagram is two trigrams stacked, which is where the sixty-four come from.

The eight trigrams are laid out on the I Ching overview.

What is a transformed hexagram? If your cast contains changing lines, flipping them produces

a second figure: the direction the situation is tending. The coin method guide

walks the full reading order, primary first, then the changing lines, then the transformed figure.

How do I find my hexagram after a cast? Scan the table above by name and keywords, or match

your six lines against the figure names you already suspect; a cast usually recognizes itself.

When one figure keeps returning

People tend to meet this page twice: once out of curiosity, and once because a cast landed close

to home. If a hexagram has named something real, the fuller conversation is what a

Life Direction reading is for, where a live cast is read

against your birth chart and your cards, and the I Ching takes its proper seat: the direction of

change. Or begin with your free Essence chart.