I Ching Hexagrams: All 64 at a Glance
A complete quick-reference guide to all 64 I Ching hexagrams — names, Chinese characters, trigram pairs, and one-line meanings. Find your hexagram fast.
You have cast your coins or sorted your yarrow stalks. You have a hexagram number — 23, or 47, or 58. Now what?
This page is the answer to “now what.” Below you will find all 64 hexagrams: Chinese name, English name, trigram pair, a one-line description, and the core image that has defined each hexagram for three thousand years.
It is not a full interpretation. For that, you want a complete I Ching translation (the Wilhelm/Baynes edition is the standard) or a personalized Deep Reading. This page is the compass — it tells you where you are, so you can decide where to go next.
How the 64 hexagrams are organized
The I Ching arranges its hexagrams in pairs. In most cases, each pair consists of a hexagram and its inverse — hexagram 3 (Difficulty at the Beginning) inverted becomes hexagram 4 (Youthful Folly). Turn the situation upside down, and you get a different lesson.
The first two hexagrams, Qian (the Creative) and Kun (the Receptive), are the exceptions. They have no inverses — pure yang inverted is still pure yang. They are the parents; the remaining 62 hexagrams are their children.
All 64 hexagrams
1–8: The Foundational Eight
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 乾 (Qián) | The Creative | ☰ over ☰ | The dragon. Pure yang. Initiative, perseverance, leadership. |
| 2 | 坤 (Kūn) | The Receptive | ☷ over ☷ | The mare. Pure yin. Yielding, nurturing, following a strong lead. |
| 3 | 屯 (Zhūn) | Difficulty at the Beginning | ☵ over ☳ | A blade of grass pushing through rock. Chaos before order. Persist. |
| 4 | 蒙 (Méng) | Youthful Folly | ☶ over ☵ | A spring at the foot of a mountain. The student seeks the teacher. |
| 5 | 需 (Xū) | Waiting | ☵ over ☰ | Clouds rising. The rain will come. Do not chase it — prepare. |
| 6 | 訟 (Sòng) | Conflict | ☰ over ☵ | A dispute. Sincere obstruction. A halfway retreat brings good fortune. |
| 7 | 師 (Shī) | The Army | ☷ over ☵ | Organized force. Discipline and clear purpose. |
| 8 | 比 (Bǐ) | Holding Together | ☵ over ☷ | Union. Water on earth — it soaks in and binds. Find your people. |
9–16: Cultivation and Approach
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 小畜 (Xiǎo Chù) | Small Taming | ☴ over ☰ | Wind over heaven. Small forces restrain the great. Gentle persistence. |
| 10 | 履 (Lǚ) | Treading | ☰ over ☱ | Treading on the tail of the tiger. Proceed with care; it does not bite. |
| 11 | 泰 (Tài) | Peace | ☷ over ☰ | Heaven and earth meet. Harmony, flow, communication. |
| 12 | 否 (Pǐ) | Standstill | ☰ over ☷ | Heaven and earth pull apart. Nothing moves. Wait it out. |
| 13 | 同人 (Tóng Rén) | Fellowship | ☰ over ☲ | Fire under heaven. A shared flame. Find your community in open ground. |
| 14 | 大有 (Dà Yǒu) | Great Possession | ☲ over ☰ | Fire in heaven. Abundance. What you have illuminates everything. |
| 15 | 謙 (Qiān) | Modesty | ☷ over ☶ | Mountain within the earth. Strength kept low. The superior person levels the high and fills the low. |
| 16 | 豫 (Yù) | Enthusiasm | ☳ over ☷ | Thunder from the earth. Energy released. Music, movement, mobilization. |
17–24: Following and Correction
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 隨 (Suí) | Following | ☱ over ☳ | Thunder in the lake. Adapt to the season. Rest when the world rests. |
| 18 | 蠱 (Gǔ) | Decay | ☶ over ☴ | Wind below the mountain. What has been neglected festers. Clean it up. |
| 19 | 臨 (Lín) | Approach | ☷ over ☱ | Earth above the lake. The shore draws near. Approach with goodwill. |
| 20 | 觀 (Guān) | Contemplation | ☴ over ☷ | Wind over earth. The ruler observes the realm. Step back and see clearly. |
| 21 | 噬嗑 (Shì Kè) | Biting Through | ☲ over ☳ | Thunder and lightning. An obstacle between the teeth. Bite through it. |
| 22 | 賁 (Bì) | Grace | ☶ over ☲ | Fire at the foot of the mountain. Beauty. Adornment, not substance. |
| 23 | 剝 (Bō) | Splitting Apart | ☶ over ☷ | Mountain over earth. The foundation crumbles. Let what is weak fall. |
| 24 | 復 (Fù) | Return | ☷ over ☳ | Thunder within the earth. The winter solstice. The light returns. |
25–32: Innocence to Duration
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 無妄 (Wú Wàng) | Innocence | ☰ over ☳ | Thunder under heaven. Spontaneous, uncalculating action. No ulterior motive. |
| 26 | 大畜 (Dà Chù) | Great Taming | ☶ over ☰ | Mountain over heaven. Store power. Restrain strength until the right moment. |
| 27 | 頤 (Yí) | Nourishment | ☶ over ☳ | Thunder under the mountain. The jaw. Watch what you feed — body and mind. |
| 28 | 大過 (Dà Guò) | Great Excess | ☱ over ☴ | Lake over wind. A beam sagging under weight. The unusual is required. |
| 29 | 坎 (Kǎn) | The Abyss | ☵ over ☵ | Water doubled. Danger. Flow through it — do not fight the current. |
| 30 | 離 (Lí) | The Clinging | ☲ over ☲ | Fire doubled. Clarity. Cling to what is bright; let it illuminate the dark. |
| 31 | 咸 (Xián) | Influence | ☱ over ☶ | Lake on the mountain. The wooing. Attraction that moves without words. |
| 32 | 恆 (Héng) | Duration | ☳ over ☴ | Thunder and wind. The long marriage. Steadiness through change. |
33–40: Retreat to Deliverance
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 遯 (Dùn) | Retreat | ☰ over ☶ | Mountain under heaven. The small advance, the great withdraw. Strategic retreat. |
| 34 | 大壯 (Dà Zhuàng) | Great Power | ☳ over ☰ | Thunder in heaven. The ram butting the fence. Power must stay within bounds. |
| 35 | 晉 (Jìn) | Progress | ☲ over ☷ | Fire over earth. The sun rising. Steady, visible advance. |
| 36 | 明夷 (Míng Yí) | Darkening of the Light | ☷ over ☲ | Earth over fire. The light buried. Keep your brilliance hidden; endure. |
| 37 | 家人 (Jiā Rén) | The Family | ☴ over ☲ | Wind from fire. The household. Words have weight inside closed doors. |
| 38 | 睽 (Kuí) | Opposition | ☲ over ☱ | Fire over lake. Two forces that cannot meet. Small differences, not separation. |
| 39 | 蹇 (Jiǎn) | Obstruction | ☵ over ☶ | Water on the mountain. The path is blocked. Turn back and find another way. |
| 40 | 解 (Xiè) | Deliverance | ☳ over ☵ | Thunder over water. The storm breaks. Release. Forgive and move on. |
41–48: Decrease to the Well
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 損 (Sǔn) | Decrease | ☶ over ☱ | Mountain over lake. Lessen what is below to strengthen what is above. Simple offerings suffice. |
| 42 | 益 (Yì) | Increase | ☴ over ☳ | Wind and thunder. Lessen what is above to strengthen below. Generosity breeds growth. |
| 43 | 夬 (Guài) | Breakthrough | ☱ over ☰ | Lake over heaven. The flood rises. A decisive rupture. Speak publicly. |
| 44 | 姤 (Gòu) | Coming to Meet | ☰ over ☴ | Heaven over wind. The princess. An unexpected encounter with consequence. |
| 45 | 萃 (Cuì) | Gathering Together | ☱ over ☷ | Lake over earth. Water collects. A group assembles around shared purpose. |
| 46 | 升 (Shēng) | Pushing Upward | ☷ over ☴ | Earth over wind. The tree grows through soil. Steady ascent. |
| 47 | 困 (Kùn) | Oppression | ☱ over ☵ | Lake above, water below. The lake is empty. Exhaustion. Words are not believed. |
| 48 | 井 (Jǐng) | The Well | ☵ over ☴ | Water over wind. The village well. The source endures; keep it clean. |
49–56: Revolution to the Wanderer
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 革 (Gé) | Revolution | ☱ over ☲ | Fire in the lake. The old order dissolves. Change timed to the season succeeds. |
| 50 | 鼎 (Dǐng) | The Cauldron | ☲ over ☴ | Fire over wood. The ritual vessel. Transform the raw into the cooked. Culture is alchemy. |
| 51 | 震 (Zhèn) | The Arousing | ☳ over ☳ | Thunder doubled. Shock. The sudden event that reorders everything. Laugh later. |
| 52 | 艮 (Gèn) | Keeping Still | ☶ over ☶ | Mountain doubled. Stillness. Stop at the right place. The back is still; the self is silent. |
| 53 | 漸 (Jiàn) | Development | ☴ over ☶ | Wind over mountain. The wild goose ascends. Slow, steady progress. No shortcuts. |
| 54 | 歸妹 (Guī Mèi) | The Marrying Maiden | ☳ over ☱ | Thunder over lake. A misaligned union. Accept the subordinate role or leave. |
| 55 | 豐 (Fēng) | Abundance | ☳ over ☲ | Thunder and lightning. Plenitude. The noon sun. It peaks, then it fades — do not cling. |
| 56 | 旅 (Lǚ) | The Wanderer | ☲ over ☶ | Fire on the mountain. The stranger in a strange place. Be courteous, keep moving. |
57–64: The Gentle to Before Completion
| # | Chinese | English | Trigrams | Core Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 巽 (Xùn) | The Gentle | ☴ over ☴ | Wind doubled. Penetration without force. Influence through persistence, not pressure. |
| 58 | 兌 (Duì) | The Joyous | ☱ over ☱ | Lake doubled. Open exchange. Joy that is shared, not hoarded. |
| 59 | 渙 (Huàn) | Dispersion | ☴ over ☵ | Wind over water. Ice melts. What was frozen dissolves. Reunite what has scattered. |
| 60 | 節 (Jié) | Limitation | ☵ over ☱ | Water over lake. The lake has banks. Limits are not prison — they are the shape that holds meaning. |
| 61 | 中孚 (Zhōng Fú) | Inner Truth | ☴ over ☱ | Wind over lake. A bird calls from the hidden nest. Sincerity reaches what words cannot. |
| 62 | 小過 (Xiǎo Guò) | Small Excess | ☳ over ☶ | Thunder over mountain. Small oversteps. The sparrow, not the eagle. Correct with modesty. |
| 63 | 既濟 (Jì Jì) | After Completion | ☵ over ☲ | Water over fire. Everything in its place. Enjoy it — disorder is already gathering at the edges. |
| 64 | 未濟 (Wèi Jì) | Before Completion | ☲ over ☵ | Fire over water. Nothing is settled. The fox is mid-stream. This is not failure — it is the beginning. |
The I Ching ends at hexagram 64, Before Completion, not at some final resolution. This is the book’s last teaching: no situation is ever truly finished. The next hexagram after 64, if there were one, would be 1 again — the Creative, the beginning. The wheel turns.
How to use this reference
If you have a hexagram number, scan the tables above. Read the Core Image column — it is the hexagram distilled to one sentence. Then, if you want more, read the full hexagram entry in a complete I Ching translation. The Wilhelm/Baynes edition is the standard English reference; the Legge translation is available free online.
If you used the I Ching Coin Casting tool on this site, your hexagram number appears at the top of your reading. If you have changing lines, look up both your present hexagram and the transformed hexagram. The changing lines tell you what is in motion; the transformed hexagram tells you where you are heading.
If you want more than a one-line summary, the free coin casting tool gives you the Judgment, the Image, and basic commentary on each hexagram. For a complete written interpretation — covering your primary hexagram, nuclear hexagram (the hidden dynamic), each changing line, the transformed hexagram, and practical guidance — see the I Ching Deep Reading ($9.99, 8-page PDF).
How the hexagrams connect to the rest of Chinese philosophy
The 64 hexagrams are not an isolated system. The trigrams that compose them are the same bagua (八卦) used in feng shui to map the eight sectors of a space. The broken and solid lines are yin and yang made visible. And many hexagram judgments describe situations in elemental terms — “fire over water” or “thunder within the earth” — drawing on the same five-element language used in Bazi and traditional Chinese medicine.
If a hexagram describes your situation as “mountain over earth” (hexagram 23, Splitting Apart), a feng shui consultant might ask whether your home’s mountain direction is unstable. If it describes “thunder within the earth” (hexagram 24, Return), a Bazi practitioner might note that a return phase is beginning in your luck cycle. The I Ching does not operate in a vacuum — it is one lens in a larger system, and the lenses reinforce each other.
The 64 hexagrams listed here follow the King Wen sequence (文王卦序), the standard ordering used in most I Ching translations and all tools on this site.