Hexagram 30: The Clinging

離 (Lí)

Clarity, brilliance, and the power of light and consciousness.

Overview

A time of failure and loss has given way to a new and more successful stage of life. This sign carries the image of fire, of light and radiance.

Still, the main thing is to understand your own fate.

First, think back to recent events. Your road was full of obstacles that kept rising in front of you. To get out of that, you had to gain confidence in yourself and in your goal.

Now you face a different task. You have that inner core, that truth, and it can carry you safely through danger, without stumbling.

What should you do? The advice is simple: hold on to your inner truth from now on. With confidence in yourself and in your goals, you will find the strength to get past obstacles that once looked too big for you.

People around you

Take care of your relationships with family and friends. Your future successes will rest on working together with them. This does not mean you have to flatter colleagues or friends. Just remember that almost nothing can be done alone.

It also does not mean treating people as a useful resource. Try to give as much as you take, or you may suddenly find yourself alone. That is not a pleasant discovery.

Work

Be bold in your work. You now have every chance to make your plans real. This is the best possible moment for difficult tasks. Get past your shyness and hesitation. Luck will be with you if you act quickly and keep your eyes open.

Your wish

Have no doubt about your wish either. Your goal is close to coming true, and joy looks near. Try to keep calm at the decisive moment, so that you do not spoil the first impression of what you have achieved.

This Overview is one traditional reading of the figure, offered as a prompt for reflection and perspective rather than a prediction of a fixed future. Where this material comes from.

New to the sequence? See how lines, trigrams and changing lines work, or cast your own reading with the three-coin method.

Structure

Read from the bottom upward, hexagram 30 is Fire over Fire. Its two inner, or nuclear, trigrams are Lake over Wind/Wood. What the eight trigrams mean.

Upper trigram (lines 4–6): Lí · Fire Clinging and bright
Lower trigram (lines 1–3): Lí · Fire Clinging and bright
Upper nuclear (lines 3–5): Duì · Lake Joyous and open
Lower nuclear (lines 2–4): Xùn · Wind/Wood Gentle and penetrating