☯ Zhouyi-IChing

The 64 Hexagrams(六十四卦)

Combine two trigrams and you get a hexagram — six lines that name a moment in the endless cycle of change. The 64 hexagrams together form a complete map of life's situations.

How a Hexagram Is Built

Take one trigram for the upper position and one for the lower, and stack them. Eight trigrams × eight trigrams = 64 combinations. Each hexagram is read from the bottom line upward, and each of its six lines can be examined on its own.


Upper Heaven over lower Earth → Hexagram 11, Tai 泰 (Peace)

How to Read a Hexagram

Every hexagram has several layers: a name(卦名) (its core image), a judgment(卦辞) (the overall situation), an image(大象) (advice drawn from its two trigrams), and six line-texts(爻辞) — one per line, describing how the situation evolves as it develops. Reading them well is less about prediction and more about seeing your situation clearly.

A Few Famous Hexagrams

1 · 乾 Qián
The Creative — pure Yang, initiative and strength.
2 · 坤 Kūn
The Receptive — pure Yin, devotion and support.
63 · 既济 Jìjì
After Completion — order achieved, vigilance needed.
64 · 未济 Wèijì
䷿
Before Completion — almost there, the cycle renews.

Notice that the system ends with "Before Completion," not "After Completion." That is the I Ching's deepest message: change never truly stops. Every ending is another beginning.

Explore all 64, with plain-language readings

The full site includes every one of the 64 hexagrams — each with its lines, judgment, and a clear plain-language explanation — plus an interactive tool to cast and read a hexagram for yourself.

The full experience is in Chinese for now; your browser can translate it instantly (right-click → Translate), and an English version is in progress.

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