Hexagram 1 of 64
The Creative
乾 Qián
Upper trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
Lower trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
The judgment
元亨。利貞。
Supreme success. It is fitting to hold firm.
The Great Image
天行健，君子以自強不息。
Heaven moves with strength. In the same way, the noble person keeps growing stronger without rest.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
潛龍勿用。
The dragon lies submerged. Do not put it to use.
What you are working on may not be ready to show. Use this time to prepare, and hold back from moves that need more than you have now.
Line 2 九二
見龍在田，利見大人。
A dragon appears in the field. It is fitting to see a great person.
You may be starting to be noticed. Consider looking for someone experienced who can guide you, and letting them see your work.
Line 3 九三
君子終日乾乾，夕惕若；厲，无咎。
All day the noble person works without pause, and at night stays watchful. There is danger, but no blame.
Steady effort is called for, and so is looking over your own work at the end of the day. The strain is real, so watch for mistakes that come from being tired.
Line 4 九四
或躍在淵，无咎。
Perhaps leaping, perhaps staying in the deep. No blame.
You may have a real choice between stepping up and staying where you are. Either can be right, so consider which you could keep up.
Line 5 九五
飛龍在天，利見大人。
A dragon flies in the heavens. It is fitting to see a great person.
This line describes someone in full stride. If that is you, use the position to work with capable people.
Line 6 上九
亢龍，有悔。
A dragon that has climbed too high has cause for regret.
Ask whether you are pushing past the point where more effort helps. Easing off by choice tends to cost less than being forced to later.
When all six lines change 用九
見羣龍无首，吉。
A flight of dragons appears with no leader. Good fortune.
This text is read when all six lines change. Think about sharing the lead, so that no single person has to carry the whole effort.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is six unbroken lines, heaven above heaven. It stands for strength that keeps moving, like the sky turning day after day. The first thing it asks is whether your effort can be sustained.
The six lines follow a dragon from hiding in the deep, through the field and the leap, to full flight and finally to climbing too high. Read your own situation against that arc. Where you are on it matters more than how strong you feel.
If your question is about work or a new undertaking, tradition reads this as a time for persistent, principled effort. The same text warns that strength with no limit ends in regret.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/乾), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image is the first sentence of the 象 commentary.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- Wikisource punctuates the judgment 元亨。利貞。, while Project Gutenberg gives 元，亨，利，貞。, which treats the four words as four separate qualities.
- In line three, Wikisource reads 夕惕若；厲，无咎。 Project Gutenberg reads 夕惕，若厲，無咎。, which attaches 若 to the danger that follows instead of to the watchfulness before it.
- Project Gutenberg writes 無 and 群 where Wikisource has 无 and 羣. These are variant forms of the same words.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.