Hexagram 22 · 贲 · Bì
Grace
- Element:
- Mountain over Fire
- Key themes:
- beauty, elegance, refinement, harmony, expression
Image
Fire beneath a mountain, symbolizing the beauty and grace that arise from inner refinement and harmony.
Overall message
Hexagram 22 represents the concept of grace and beauty. It emphasizes the importance of inner refinement, harmony, and the elegant expression of one's true self. Success comes from balancing inner substance with outer beauty and acting with grace and elegance in all endeavors.
Embrace grace and beauty in your actions and expressions. Cultivate inner refinement and harmony. Success comes from expressing yourself with elegance and maintaining balance between inner substance and outer appearance.
Classical text (Legge, 1882)
Judgment. Pî indicates that there should be free course (in what it denotes). There will be little advantage (however) if it be allowed to advance (and take the lead).
Image. (The trigram representing) a mountain and that for fire under it form Pî. The superior man, in accordance with this, throws a brilliancy around his various processes of government, but does not dare (in a similar way) to decide cases of criminal litigation.
From James Legge's translation of the I Ching (Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882). Public domain.
The six lines
Line 6 · Transcendent Grace
Grace transcends superficial beauty. True grace comes from inner harmony and wisdom.
Focus on cultivating inner harmony and wisdom. True grace is timeless and profound.
Line 5 · Graceful Leadership
Graceful leadership inspires and uplifts others.
Lead with grace and elegance. Your refined approach will earn respect and admiration.
Line 4 · Elegance in Action
Grace is expressed through elegant and harmonious actions.
Act with elegance and harmony. Your graceful actions will inspire others.
Line 3 · Balanced Expression
Balance between inner substance and outer expression is key.
Ensure that your outer expressions of grace are rooted in inner substance. Maintain balance.
Line 2 · Refinement
Grace is refined and enhanced. Focus on inner beauty and harmony.
Cultivate inner refinement and harmony. Let your grace shine from within.
Line 1 · Simple Grace
The beginning of grace. Start with simplicity and natural beauty.
Appreciate and express simple, natural beauty. Avoid unnecessary embellishments.
Related hexagrams
Opposite: If every line of this hexagram were inverted (yang to yin and vice versa), you would have Hexagram 47 · 困 · Kùn. This is the hexagram's structural counterpart — the situation it could become if every dynamic flipped.
Nuclear: The hexagram hidden inside this one, built from lines 2-3-4 and 3-4-5, is Hexagram 40 · 解 · Xiè. The nuclear hexagram describes the inner pattern that produced this situation — what is going on underneath.
If only one line of this hexagram changed in your cast, you would arrive at:
- Line 1 changing → Hexagram 52 · 艮 · Gèn
- Line 2 changing → Hexagram 26 · 大畜 · Dà Chù
- Line 3 changing → Hexagram 27 · 颐 · Yí
- Line 4 changing → Hexagram 30 · 离 · Lí
- Line 5 changing → Hexagram 37 · 家人 · Jiā Rén
- Line 6 changing → Hexagram 36 · 明夷 · Míng Yí