Hexagram 50 · 鼎 · Dǐng
The Caldron
- Element:
- Fire over Wind
- Key themes:
- nourishment, transformation, stability, ritual, abundance
Image
A sacred cauldron used for cooking and rituals, symbolizing nourishment and transformation.
Overall message
Hexagram 50 symbolizes nourishment, transformation, and stability. It encourages using rituals and traditions to create abundance and ensure the well-being of all.
Focus on creating stability and nourishment. Use rituals and traditions to bring about transformation and abundance.
Classical text (Legge, 1882)
Judgment. Ting gives the intimation of great progress and success.
Image. (The trigram representing) wood and above it that for fire form Ting. The superior man, in accordance with this, keeps his every position correct, and maintains secure the appointment (of Heaven).
From James Legge's translation of the I Ching (Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882). Public domain.
The six lines
Line 6 · Overflowing Caldron
The caldron overflows, symbolizing ultimate success and abundance.
Celebrate the success but remain humble and focused on sustainability.
Line 5 · Abundance from the Caldron
The caldron produces abundance, symbolizing success and nourishment.
Share the abundance generously and ensure it benefits all.
Line 4 · Sustaining the Caldron
The caldron is maintained, ensuring continuous nourishment.
Focus on sustaining the process and maintaining stability.
Line 3 · Cooking in the Caldron
The transformation process is underway, but it requires patience.
Be patient and allow the process to unfold naturally.
Line 2 · Filling the Caldron
The caldron is filled with ingredients, ready for transformation.
Gather the necessary resources and focus on the process.
Line 1 · Preparing the Caldron
The caldron is prepared for use, symbolizing the beginning of transformation.
Prepare carefully and set the stage for nourishment.
Related hexagrams
Opposite: If every line of this hexagram were inverted (yang to yin and vice versa), you would have Hexagram 3 · 屯 · Zhūn. 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 43 · 夬 · Guài. 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 14 · 大有 · Dà Yǒu
- Line 2 changing → Hexagram 56 · 旅 · Lǚ
- Line 3 changing → Hexagram 64 · 未济 · Wèi Jì
- Line 4 changing → Hexagram 18 · 蛊 · Gǔ
- Line 5 changing → Hexagram 44 · 姤 · Gòu
- Line 6 changing → Hexagram 32 · 恒 · Héng