I Ching Hexagrams

I Ching is one of the oldest books of Ancient China. It contains 64 hexagrams and texts on how to understand them in the case of divination. You find links to all of the hexagrams and their divinatory texts below.

       Hexa in hexagram means six, which refers to the six lines that form a hexagram. Each of these lines can be solid or broken. That means there are 2⁶ = 64 possible combinations of lines into hexagrams. In I Ching, each hexagram has its own particular meaning in divination. So do the lines of it. They represent yin and yang, the basic polarities of Chinese cosmology and philosophy.

Two Trigrams in Each Hexagram

The I Ching hexagrams have their own symbolic meanings, but these stem from the two trigrams of which they consist. A trigram is a combination of three lines that can either be whole or broken in two. That makes a total of eight possible trigrams (2 x 2 x 2). Each trigram represents a basic natural force. The meaning of a hexagram is decided by what two trigrams are paired in it, one above the other. For more about the eight trigrams, click the header.

The 64 I Ching Hexagrams

An I Ching hexagram is composed of two trigrams. Each of the 64 hexagrams has its own name, meaning, and divinatory text. Here they all are, in the traditional order. Click on the image of an I Ching hexagram to get to its webpage.

1 Creative	2 Receptive	3 Difficulty	4 Folly
5 Waiting	6 Conflict	7 Army	8 Union
9 Taming	10 Treading	11 Peace	12 Standstill
13 Fellowship	14 Possession	15 Modesty	16 Enthusiasm
17 Following	18 Decay	19 Approach	20 View
21 Biting	22 Grace	23 Splitting	24 Return
25 Innocence	26 Taming	27 Mouth	28 Preponderance
29 Abysmal	30 Clinging	31 Influence	32 Duration
33 Retreat	34 Power	35 Progress	36 Darkening
37 Family	38 Opposition	39 Obstruction	40 Deliverance
41 Decrease	42 Increase	43 Resoluteness	44 Coming
45 Gathering	46 Pushing	47 Oppression	48 Well
49 Revolution	50 Caldron	51 Arousing	52 Still
53 Development	54 Marrying	55 Abundance	56 Wanderer
57 Gentle	58 Joyous	59 Dispersion	60 Limitation
61 Truth	62 Small	63 After	64 Before

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I'm a Swedish author and aikido instructor. In addition to fiction, I've written books about Taoism as well as other East Asian traditions. I'm also a historian of ideas, researching ancient thought and mythology. Click the image to get to my personal website.