I Ching Reading

Hexagram 35: Progress

晉 · Jìn · Fire over Earth

advancementrecognitionclarityrising

Progress (晉, Jìn) is hexagram 35 of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, in the traditional King Wen order. It is made of Fire (☲) above Earth (☷).

Meaning of hexagram 35

Like the sun rising over the earth, your progress becomes visible. Recognition comes to a steady and honest effort.

Advice

Move ahead openly, accept the attention gracefully and keep serving the whole.

The two trigrams

Progress places ☲ Fire (Lí), bright, clinging and clear, above ☷ Earth (Kūn), yielding, receptive and nourishing. The lower trigram is the inner side of the situation and the upper one its outer side.

Hexagram
35. Progress
Chinese name
晉 Jìn
Upper trigram
☲ Fire (Lí)
Lower trigram
☷ Earth (Kūn)
Lines
2 yang (solid) and 4 yin (broken)
Place in the sequence
35 of 64 (King Wen order)

The six lines of Progress

A hexagram is read from the bottom line up. In a reading, a changing line (a 6 or a 9 in the three-coin method) draws attention to its position.

  1. First line (yin, broken): the beginning. The root of the matter: early stirrings, foundations, and what has not yet shown itself.
  2. Second line (yin, broken): the inner circle. Your immediate surroundings and steady supports: how things work at close range.
  3. Third line (yin, broken): the threshold. A point of tension between inner and outer, often a test or a restless push forward.
  4. Fourth line (yang, solid): the approach. Stepping into wider circles or nearer to authority; caution and good relationships matter here.
  5. Fifth line (yin, broken): the center of power. The place of influence and clear leadership: where the situation is most fully expressed.
  6. Sixth line (yang, solid): the culmination. The far edge of the situation: completion, overreach, or letting go.

Related hexagrams