Fire upon fire: a flame that is bright outside and empty inside, and that must cling to something in order to burn. Li is clarity, insight and beauty, and also dependence: light needs fuel, understanding needs a source. It asks what you are attached to, and advises the docility of the cow: accepting your dependence on what is right, so that your light can last.
Judgment
離：利貞，亨。畜牝牛，吉。
Brightness: steadfastness is favorable; success. Raising a cow: good fortune.
Image
明兩作，離；大人以繼明照于四方。
Brightness arises a second time: fire. Taking this as a model, the great person carries the light forward without break and shines on every direction.
- Clarity and insight
- Dependence and attachment
- Illumination
- Sustaining what shines
- Gentle receptivity
- clarity
- light
- attachment
- insight
- beauty
- awareness
- Every light depends on something; choose well what you cling to.
- Clarity is sustained by humility and steadiness.
- Share your understanding so it illuminates others.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Nine at the beginning 初九
Line text
履錯然，敬之无咎。
Steps crossing every which way. Treat it with respect: no blame.
At the start of the day, many impressions rush in. Collect yourself, stay serious and attentive, and the confusion of beginnings does no harm.
- Collecting yourself
- Mindful beginnings
- Being scattered at the outset
- A clear start through calm attention
Line 2Six in the second place 六二
Line text
黃離，元吉。
Yellow brightness: supreme good fortune.
The light of midday, centered and balanced. Clarity combined with moderation is the best possible state.
- Balanced clarity
- Harmony
- Losing the middle way
- Insight that is warm and even
Line 3Nine in the third place 九三
Line text
日昃之離，不鼓缶而歌，則大耋之嗟，凶。
Brightness of the declining sun. If one does not drum on a pot and sing, there will be the laments of old age. Misfortune.
Facing the transience of things, people either indulge in forced gaiety or despair. Both are imbalanced. Accept the evening calmly.
- Transience
- Equanimity
- Swinging between denial and despair
- Calm acceptance of change
Line 4Nine in the fourth place 九四
Line text
突如其來如，焚如，死如，棄如。
Suddenly it comes: blazing, dying, discarded.
A sudden blaze of energy or ambition burns out just as fast. Brilliance without staying power leaves nothing behind.
- Flash and burnout
- Lack of staying power
- Burning too fast
- Learning to sustain energy
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
出涕沱若，戚嗟若，吉。
Tears streaming, grieving and sighing: good fortune.
A real change of heart, felt deeply. Grief that is genuine clears the way to wisdom, and so brings good fortune.
- Genuine grief
- Change of heart
- Suppressing real feeling
- Clarity after honest sorrow
Line 6Nine at the top 上九
Line text
王用出征，有嘉折首，獲匪其醜，无咎。
The king sends him out on campaign. It is best to strike down the ringleaders and take the followers captive. No blame.
Clarity is used to correct wrongs, but wisely: address the root cause and be lenient toward those who merely went along.
- Targeted correction
- Discernment
- Punishing broadly instead of precisely
- Correcting the source while sparing the rest
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
Li is the trigram of fire, sun and lightning, doubled here. Fire has no form of its own; it clings to what it burns. So the hexagram links brightness with dependence. Human clarity, too, depends on what nourishes it: values, relationships, a cause. The reading may suggest that understanding is available to you, and that its quality depends on what you attach yourself to.
The judgment's image of caring for a cow points to gentleness and docility as the source of lasting brilliance. A fire that burns too fiercely burns out. The image extends brightness outward: continuing it, generation after generation, to light the world. In relation to a question, Li may emphasize clear seeing, choosing your commitments wisely and sustaining energy rather than flaring.