Hexagram 30

Li — Attached Brightness

Fire Doubled · Fire above, Fire below · 离为火

Also known as: The Clinging, Fire

The Judgement

离卦：离，利贞，亨。畜牝牛，吉。

Li, brightness that attaches: it is favourable to hold to what is right, and there is success that goes through. Raising a cow, cultivating a gentle and docile nature, is auspicious.

AI commentaryLi is the hexagram of doubled brightness, picturing light that follows light and advances by attaching itself to something. Fire has no body of its own; it shines only when attached to fuel. Hence the judgement says that holding to what is right is favourable and brings success that goes through. Raising a cow means cultivating the yielding, gentle character of a cow, and this is auspicious. Drawn in divination, the hexagram signals flourishing culture and talent that becomes visible. Yet brightness needs a proper support and must rest on gentleness and correctness; one who flaunts cleverness or stands aloof loses the ground beneath.

AI plain readingLi stacks the Fire trigram on itself, one light following another, and stands for culture and recognition that grow by attaching to something solid. Fire has no shape of its own; it can only shine by holding on to what it burns. That is why the judgement says holding to what is right is favourable and brings success, and why raising a cow, which means developing a gentle, cooperative temperament, is auspicious. If you draw this hexagram, it usually points to talent being seen and creative work flourishing. But your brightness needs a sound base and should rest on gentleness and integrity. Do not lean on your cleverness to show off, or grow so aloof that you lose your footing.

The Great Image

明两作，离；大人以继明照于四方。

Brightness arises twice over: this is Li. A person of authority keeps the light continuous, passing it on without a break, and lets it shine out in all four directions.

The Six Lines

1st Line (nine)

初九：履错然，敬之无咎。

Steps go this way and that in confusion. Meeting the moment with reverent care brings no blame.

AI commentaryThe sun has only just risen; tracks cross in disorder and no direction is yet settled. At such a beginning, meeting things with reverence and caution, neither careless nor hasty, leaves no blame. The line teaches opening any venture with careful respect.

AI plain readingThe sun is just coming up; your steps are scattered and the path is not yet decided. At this starting point, if you approach things with respect and care, without rushing or acting carelessly, you avoid mistakes. This line teaches you to begin a new phase with deliberate, respectful caution.

Timing: Things are just getting under way and the threads are still tangled; a careful, steady opening keeps you free of blame.
Money: Before committing funds, map out where your money actually goes; while direction is unclear, small gradual steps beat impulsive purchases.
Career: Treat colleagues and the brief with respect, sort priorities before pushing, and a project launched amid confusion can still start cleanly.
Relationships: Sincerity and patience suit a bond still feeling its way; let it unfold without pressure and it can settle well.
Home & Household: Household matters look disordered at first, so take them one at a time, from paperwork to repairs, and calm returns.
Health: The tradition reads this line as a call to respect your daily routine; regular sleep and careful habits support gradual improvement.
Marriage: If an engagement or marriage is under discussion, hold off on the final decision and watch how the relationship develops.
Exams & Study: Exam preparation rewards a respectful, unhurried start: build the fundamentals first, resist shortcuts, and solid results become a realistic hope.
Travel: With the route still uncertain, double-check bookings, timings and directions, and move at an even pace; caution means no blame.
Disputes & Legal Matters: Answer a dispute's opening moves courteously and calmly, keep written records, and avoid rash accusations; careful conduct leaves you blameless.
Finding a Person: Clues are scattered early in a search; sort them, follow one lead at a time, and a trail can be traced.
The Decision Point: When the start is tangled and unsettled, open with respect and caution, steady your footing, and avoid haste or carelessness; then there is no blame.

2nd Line (six)

六二：黄离，元吉。

Yellow brightness, the colour of the centre: supremely auspicious.

AI commentaryYellow is the colour of the centre and of balance, so here brightness attaches itself to the middle, correct path. Gentle, cultured and centred, this is the finest line of the hexagram and supremely auspicious: light that shines without glaring.

AI plain readingYellow is the colour of the centre, so this line describes brightness attached to a balanced, correct path. Gentle, cultured and centred, it is the best line in Li and supremely auspicious. It teaches you to treat people and handle affairs with fairness and balance, letting your light shine without dazzling anyone.

Timing: This is a highly auspicious phase; balanced, modest conduct lets your abilities shine without glare, and most undertakings go well.
Money: Earnings flow from fair, transparent dealing; keep accounts clean, avoid flashy displays of wealth, and the reading points to substantial gain.
Career: Treating clients and teammates with even-handed fairness wins broad support; people rally behind you, making this an excellent time to lead.
Relationships: Warm, balanced and honest affection lets a bond deepen into something rich and lasting; open sincerity makes love highly auspicious now.
Home & Household: When whoever runs the household is fair and gentle, the family prospers and the atmosphere at home is harmonious and bright.
Health: Calm emotions and a balanced routine support robust health; the tradition reads this line as steady vigour with a healthy glow.
Marriage: A well-matched partnership built on mutual fairness is highly auspicious; the tradition sees a natural pairing that can last a lifetime.
Exams & Study: Your ability shows clearly and you perform at ease; the line is highly auspicious for exams, pointing toward top-ranked results.
Travel: Journeys run smoothly and help appears along the way; setting out now is highly auspicious and tends to accomplish its purpose.
Disputes & Legal Matters: A fair-minded, transparent stance persuades others; with sound evidence and a just position, the reading strongly favours your side.
Finding a Person: Searching through proper, official channels is highly auspicious; news tends to arrive quickly and the person can be found.
The Decision Point: Attach yourself to what is balanced and correct, let your light shine without glare, and treat everyone with fairness and gentleness: supremely auspicious.

3rd Line (nine)

九三：日昃之离，不鼓缶而歌，则大耋之嗟，凶。

Light of the afternoon sun, sinking westward. Unless one strikes the earthen jar and sings, there comes the lament of the very old: inauspicious.

AI commentaryThe sun has passed its height and its light is nearly spent. Without an easy spirit, drumming on a jar and singing, one sinks into the laments of old age: inauspicious. At the turn from peak to decline, contentment serves; self-pity harms.

AI plain readingThe sun is sinking and its light is fading. If you cannot stay easygoing now, tapping a clay jar and singing at peace with your lot, you end up in the sighing of old age, which is inauspicious. As a peak gives way to decline, go with the times, be content, and avoid self-pity.

Timing: Circumstances have peaked and begun to decline; accept the change with good humour, since dwelling on regret makes this phase inauspicious.
Money: Take profits and trim spending while gains are still near their peak; contentment protects you, whereas greed or lament brings loss.
Career: A role or project is past its prime, so plan an orderly wind-down or handover; holding on and complaining is inauspicious.
Relationships: If passion is cooling into something quieter, value what remains and let it settle naturally; grasping and grieving only hurt.
Home & Household: Family fortunes are turning after a good stretch; count your blessings, run the household with a light heart, and avoid grumbling.
Health: As energy declines, look after yourself calmly and cheerfully; the tradition treats low spirits as more harmful than the change itself.
Marriage: Approach marriage matters with an open, contented heart; forcing an outcome or nursing grievances disturbs the peace that acceptance brings.
Exams & Study: Exam luck is fading, so keep a level head, give your honest best, and let no worry over marks unsettle you.
Travel: Head home while the trip is still going well; knowing when to stop keeps you safe, but overextending it is inauspicious.
Disputes & Legal Matters: Settle or step back while your position is still reasonable; dragging the conflict on out of resentment is read as inauspicious.
Finding a Person: Search with acceptance and know when to pause; pressing too hard and lamenting the lack of news does nothing to help.
The Decision Point: As a high point gives way to decline, move with the season, be content and stay light-hearted; never cling to position or sink into self-pity.

4th Line (nine)

九四：突如其来如，焚如，死如，弃如。

Abruptly it bursts forward: flaring like a blaze, then dead, then discarded.

AI commentaryA hard, impetuous nature surges forward abruptly, like fire flaring suddenly and consuming everything, until it brings death and rejection on itself. The line warns that whoever attaches wrongly and acts violently invites ruin; it is the hexagram's most inauspicious line.

AI plain readingActing from a hard, impatient temper and charging ahead without warning is like a fire that flares and burns everything: it ends in destruction and abandonment. This is the most inauspicious line in Li. It warns that violent, overbearing action without proper grounding brings its own ruin, so avoid rash advances and never bully others.

Timing: Highly inauspicious: sudden rises are followed by sudden falls, so rein in impatience and aggression, because a violent push brings self-destruction.
Money: Money that arrives in a rush can vanish as fast; in this highly inauspicious phase, hold steady and shun big gambles.
Career: At work, aggressive expansion or bullying colleagues leads to collapse; under this highly inauspicious line, slow down and soften your approach.
Relationships: Keep outbursts and controlling behaviour out of love; in this highly inauspicious time, forcing the pace risks a painful split.
Home & Household: The household faces highly inauspicious conditions; guard against fire and sudden upheavals, keep tempers low, and favour calm, cooperative routines.
Health: Traditionally highly inauspicious, warning of sudden flare-ups and rising anger; rest, stay calm, and seek prompt medical advice if symptoms appear.
Marriage: Never pressure a partner toward commitment or force a showdown; the line is highly inauspicious, and impulsive moves end in separation.
Exams & Study: Restlessness and overconfidence make exams highly inauspicious under this line; settle your nerves, drop the arrogance, and work patiently instead.
Travel: Watch for fire hazards and accidents; with travel highly inauspicious, never rush, and postpone wherever risk appears.
Disputes & Legal Matters: Fierce confrontation and acting out of pride are highly inauspicious in disputes; escalation is the surest way to defeat yourself.
Finding a Person: The search is highly inauspicious and prone to sudden twists; frantic, rash action makes things worse, so look calmly and methodically.
The Decision Point: Violent, sudden action destroys itself: rein in hardness and impatience, never push forward by force, and stay attached to what is right to avoid disaster.

5th Line (six)

六五：出涕沱若，戚嗟若，吉。

Tears pour out like rain, with sorrow and sighing. Auspicious.

AI commentaryGentle and weak yet in the place of honour, this line stands at the height of anxiety, weeping freely and sighing in sorrow. Precisely because its fear and vigilance never slacken, danger turns to safety and the outcome is auspicious.

AI plain readingYou hold a high position yet feel weak, and anxiety reaches its peak: tears flow and you sigh with worry. Yet precisely because you stay deeply concerned and never let your guard down, danger turns into safety and the outcome is auspicious. A keen sense of possible trouble can itself bring good fortune.

Timing: Concern about what might go wrong is what turns things around now; keep reviewing yourself, prepare for setbacks, and fortune improves.
Money: Manage finances as if a downturn could come: protect savings, trim risk, and that caution lets you steer clear of trouble.
Career: Staying alert to every risk at work instead of growing complacent lets you turn hazards into gains; vigilance is your edge.
Relationships: Pay close attention to your partner's needs and never take the bond for granted; caring this attentively helps love last.
Home & Household: Fix small household problems before they grow and think ahead about safety; a watchful family moves from unease to calm.
Health: Taking warning signs seriously and keeping up preventive care works in your favour; the tradition links such attentiveness with wellbeing.
Marriage: Handle commitment carefully and put real effort into understanding each other; cherishing the bond with some anxiety helps it succeed. Auspicious.
Exams & Study: Study as if the exam will be harder than expected and never ease off; such anxious diligence tends to be rewarded.
Travel: Prepare thoroughly for contingencies, with insurance, backup plans and safe routes; a cautious traveller turns potential trouble into a good trip.
Disputes & Legal Matters: Approach the conflict warily, as though standing at a cliff edge; careful, respectful handling and solid evidence make resolution possible.
Finding a Person: Worry drives you to try many channels without rest, and that earnestness is what tends to bring news of the person.
The Decision Point: Deep concern leads to good fortune: keep examining yourself, prepare for trouble in quiet times, and unflagging vigilance turns danger into safety.

6th Line (nine)

上九：王用出征，有嘉折首，获匪其丑，无咎。

The king leads a campaign. It is praiseworthy to strike down the ringleader and not seize his followers: no blame.

AI commentaryBrightness peaks, and the king uses it to march on rebels, cutting down the chief offender and sparing those coerced. Clear judgement that removes the root of wrong without collective punishment brings no blame; using brightness means separating leaders from followers.

AI plain readingBrightness is at its height, and the king uses it to campaign against rebels, striking down the ringleaders but sparing those forced to follow. Clear judgement means tackling the root of a problem without punishing everyone nearby, so there is no blame. When you use clarity well, you tell instigators from followers.

Timing: Clear sight and decisive action pay off now; separate the essential from the minor, deal with the core, and progress follows.
Money: Pinpoint the real leak in your finances, a bad contract or draining habit, and fix it decisively; stop fretting over trifles.
Career: Tackle the main problem at work head-on and hold the true culprit responsible, not the whole team: major success, no blame.
Relationships: In a disagreement, name the real issue and address only that; leaving old grievances buried keeps the peace.
Home & Household: Decide clearly what matters most at home and fix the root cause of friction; letting trivial things go restores order.
Health: The tradition favours identifying the main complaint and treating its root; consult one trusted practitioner rather than hopping between remedies.
Marriage: Settle wedding or commitment questions by focusing on the central issue; avoid squabbling over side details and the match comes together.
Exams & Study: Prioritise the topics that carry the most marks and organise everything else around them; a structured approach wins the day.
Travel: Set a clear purpose and itinerary, decide firmly, and stick to the main route; the trip runs smoothly and without blame.
Disputes & Legal Matters: Favourable: focus on the principal wrong and whoever is truly responsible, leave bystanders out, and a well-grounded case can prevail.
Finding a Person: The person can be found: identify the main thread, act on the most telling clue, and search decisively along it.
The Decision Point: Use clarity to tell instigator from follower: judge clearly, remove the root cause, let minor matters go, spare bystanders, and success comes without blame.

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