Hexagram 2 of 64
The Receptive
坤 Kūn
Upper trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
The judgment
元亨。利牝馬之貞。君子有攸往，先迷後得主。利西南得朋，東北喪朋。安貞，吉。
Supreme success. It is fitting to hold firm as a mare does. When the noble person has somewhere to go, leading brings confusion and following finds a master. It is fitting to gain friends in the southwest and to lose friends in the northeast. Calm persistence brings good fortune.
The Great Image
地勢坤，君子以厚德載物。
The lie of the land is yielding. In the same way, the noble person carries all things with generous character.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
履霜，堅冰至。
Treading on frost. Solid ice is coming.
A small sign now may point to something larger. Notice the pattern early, while it is still easy to respond.
Line 2 六二
直方大，不習无不利。
Straight, square, great. Without practice, nothing is unfavorable.
Being honest and consistent may serve you better than a clever plan. Do the plain thing in front of you.
Line 3 六三
含章，可貞。或從王事，无成有終。
Holding brilliance within. It can be held firmly. If you serve the king's business, there is no achievement of your own, yet there is a good end.
You may do your best work without getting the credit. Ask whether finishing the job well matters to you more than being seen to have done it.
Line 4 六四
括囊，无咎无譽。
The sack is cinched shut. No blame and no praise.
This may be a time to keep your own counsel. Saying less can keep you out of trouble, at the price of not being noticed.
Line 5 六五
黃裳，元吉。
A skirt of yellow. Supreme good fortune.
Yellow was the color of the center, and the skirt the humble half of dress. Consider how much you can do from a modest place without asking for attention.
Line 6 上六
龍戰于野，其血玄黃。
Dragons fight in the open country. Their blood is dark and yellow.
Yielding has been pushed to the point of open conflict, and both sides are hurt. Look for what a confrontation would cost you before you enter it.
When all six lines change 用六
利永貞。
It is fitting to hold firm for the long term.
This text is read when all six lines change. Think about what you could keep doing steadily for a long time.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is six broken lines, earth above earth. It stands for the power to receive, support and carry things through. Where the first hexagram starts things, this one brings them to completion.
The judgment compares this quality to a mare, strong and able to travel far while staying with the herd. It says that trying to lead brings confusion and that following finds direction. Ask where you would do better by supporting something already under way.
If your question is about a team, a family or a long project, tradition reads this as a time for patience and reliability. The last line is a caution that yielding has limits, and that a conflict left too long hurts everyone in it.
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/坤), 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
- In the top line, Wikisource reads 龍戰于野 (dragons fight in the open country). Project Gutenberg reads 戰龍於野 (fighting dragons in the open country).
- Wikisource punctuates the opening 元亨。利牝馬之貞。, while Project Gutenberg gives 元，亨，利牝馬之貞。
- Project Gutenberg writes 無 where Wikisource has 无. These are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.