Hexagram 49 of 64
Revolution
革 Gé
Upper trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
Lower trigram: 離 Lí, fire
The judgment
已日乃孚，元亨。利貞。悔亡。
When the day has come, there is trust. Supreme success. It is fitting to hold firm. Regret goes.
The Great Image
澤中有火，革；君子以治歷明時。
Within the lake there is fire: Revolution. In the same way, the noble person puts the almanac right and makes plain the turn of the seasons.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
鞏用黃牛之革。
Bound with the hide of a yellow ox.
Ox hide binds tightly, and this early line offers nothing but the binding. Consider whether it is too soon to act on a change you already feel sure of.
Line 2 六二
已日乃革之，征吉，无咎。
When the day has come, then change it. Setting out brings good fortune. No blame.
Change here waits for the right day and then goes ahead. Ask what would tell you that the day has come.
Line 3 九三
征凶，貞厲，革言三就，有孚。
Setting out brings misfortune. Holding firm brings danger. Talk of change is taken up three times. There is trust.
Talk of change goes around three times before there is trust. Consider who you still need to hear from before you act.
Line 4 九四
悔亡，有孚改命，吉。
Regret goes. There is trust, and the mandate is changed. Good fortune.
To change a mandate was to change who had the right to rule. If you are changing the terms of something, ask whether those affected already trust the reason for it.
Line 5 九五
大人虎變，未占有孚。
The great person undergoes a tiger's change. Before any divination there is trust.
A tiger's stripes are plain from far off. Ask whether the change you are making is clear enough that people would not need anyone to explain or forecast it.
Line 6 上六
君子豹變，小人革面，征凶，居貞吉。
The noble person undergoes a leopard's change. The petty person changes face. Setting out brings misfortune. Staying and holding firm brings good fortune.
The leopard's coat shows a real change and the petty person alters only the face. Once a big shift has been made, consider staying put a while and asking which of the changes around you go deeper than expression.
What this hexagram says
Fire below, lake above: each can put out or dry up the other, so something has to give. The word also means an animal hide, which changes form when it is worked. It stands for a thorough change in how things are done.
The judgment says trust comes when the day has arrived. A change made before people are ready may cost more than it wins. Ask what would need to be true for those affected to accept what you propose.
If your question is about leaving a job, reshaping a team or ending an old arrangement, tradition reads this as a time to choose your moment well. The lines begin with restraint, pass through careful talk and reach a visible change. The last line is a caution to stop when the change is done and go no further.
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/革), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- 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 judgment and the second line, Wikisource (A) reads 已日 (when the day has come) and Project Gutenberg (B) reads 己日 (the day named ji, one of the ten days of the old calendar cycle).
- Wikisource (A) punctuates the judgment 元亨。利貞。悔亡。, while Project Gutenberg (B) gives 元亨利貞，悔亡。 In the second line B also writes 無 where A has 无, 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.