I Ching Hexagram 1 - The Creative: Meaning & Interpretation

Cast six unbroken lines and you have Hexagram 1, Qian, The Creative. This page reads that cast: the Four Virtues of the King Wen judgment, the six dragon lines, the rare all-nines text, and the hexagram each changing line turns Qian into.

What is Hexagram 1 (Qian, The Creative) and what does the cast look like?

Hexagram 1, Qian (The Creative), is the cast of six unbroken lines: the Heaven trigram doubled, Heaven above and Heaven below. It is the only hexagram in the I Ching with six solid lines and therefore the purest expression of yang energy in the system. In the Wilhelm/Baynes translation the judgment reads "The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance." The four characters behind that sentence, yuan (originating), heng (penetrating success), li (benefiting), and zhen (perseverance), became known as the Four Virtues of the Creative. The Heaven trigram represents expansive upward-moving energy, the force that initiates without resting, and doubled it reaches maximum and stands for the creative principle itself rather than any particular thing it produces. Alfred Huang in The Complete I Ching explains that Qian originally depicted the rising sun illuminating all things and later came to represent heaven and the creative principle.

The internal structure of Hexagram 1 adds a further layer. Because all six lines are yang, the nuclear hexagram (lines 2-3-4 as lower trigram, lines 3-4-5 as upper trigram) is Hexagram 1 again, a self-generating property shared only with Hexagram 2. That mathematical fact mirrors the teaching: pure creative force generates nothing but more creative force, and there is no hidden inner situation to excavate. Hilary Barrett in I Ching: Walking Your Path, Creating Your Future describes Hexagram 1 as "the experience of being wholly identified with creative intent." Qian heads the King Wen sequence that nearly every modern translation follows, and its counterpart Kun stands immediately after it, a pairing covered in I Ching Hexagram 2 - The Receptive: Meaning & Interpretation.

What does the doubled Heaven trigram of Hexagram 1 mean in practice?

The doubled Heaven trigram of Hexagram 1 amplifies initiative and forward momentum to maximum intensity, which in practice means unusual creative energy and very little natural braking. Wilhelm/Baynes describe the quality as "the power of the spirit to rise above the world of the senses." In most hexagrams the upper and lower trigrams create tension between two forces and the reading lives in that friction. Doubled Heaven creates pure resonance instead, which is why the cautionary weight of Hexagram 1 falls entirely on the top line rather than on any internal conflict.

How does Hexagram 1 relate to the cycle of the year?

In the traditional Chinese seasonal correspondence, Hexagram 1 is assigned to the fourth lunar month, roughly May, when yang energy reaches full expression shortly before the summer solstice. The system builds the six yang lines up from the winter solstice one month at a time, so Hexagram 1 sits at the moment yang can rise no further. That placement carries a warning inside the celebration, since the next station in the cycle begins the return of yin.

Why is Hexagram 1 called "The Creative" rather than "Heaven"?

The trigram is named Heaven (Tian), but Wilhelm chose "The Creative" (Das Schopferische) for Hexagram 1 to emphasize dynamic activity over location. Heaven as a static concept is a place, while The Creative captures the ceaseless generative movement heaven stands for in Chinese thought. Alfred Huang translates the same hexagram as "Initiating" to stress that Hexagram 1 describes the beginning of action rather than a finished state. Reading Hexagram 1 as a place gives you a description, while reading it as an activity gives you an instruction.

What do the King Wen judgment and the six dragon lines of Hexagram 1 say?

The judgment of Hexagram 1 attributed to King Wen is four characters: "Qian. Yuan Heng Li Zhen." Wilhelm/Baynes render it "The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance," and it is the most analyzed phrase in I Ching scholarship. Yuan is the primal originating quality of heaven, heng is smooth unobstructed success, li is what benefits and harmonizes, and zhen is firm correctness held over time. The line texts, attributed to the Duke of Zhou, follow a dragon through successive stages of ascent. Line 1: "Hidden dragon. Do not act." The dragon rests below the earth, its power real but unexpressed. Line 2: "Dragon appearing in the field. It furthers one to see the great man." The creative force becomes visible, and seeking an ally here multiplies its effect. Line 3: "All day long the superior person is creatively active. At nightfall his mind is still beset with cares. Danger. No blame." Relentless effort without rest creates exposure, real but not yet damaging while awareness holds. Line 4: "Wavering flight over the depths. No blame." The dragon hesitates between the depths and the heights, the moment of genuine decision.

Line 5 is the ruler line of Hexagram 1: "Flying dragon in the heavens. It furthers one to see the great man." This is the climax of creative expression, where vision and capacity meet in full manifestation. The "great man" here is read two ways at once, as an external figure of authority worth seeking out and as the querent's own realized nature. Line 6: "Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent." Creative power that overshoots its bounds turns destructive, and the dragon that flies too high loses contact with the earth it was meant to serve. Hilary Barrett reads Line 6 as creative force that has forgotten its purpose and started serving itself. Beyond the six lines, Hexagram 1 carries a seventh text found nowhere else except its counterpart, yong jiu: "There appears a flight of dragons without heads. Good fortune."

Why does the Duke of Zhou use dragon imagery for every line of Hexagram 1?

The dragon (long) of Chinese tradition is not the fire-breathing destroyer of Western stories but a benevolent cosmic animal tied to rain, rivers, and imperial authority. Its defining ability is vertical range: it moves from the depths of water to the height of sky and back. That range makes the dragon the ideal vehicle for creative energy at successive stages, which is why the Duke of Zhou keeps one image and moves it rather than switching symbols line by line. Alfred Huang describes the dragon of Hexagram 1 as yang energy in different phases of development, so the six lines read as one narrative from dormancy to overreach.

What is the practical meaning of "Hidden dragon, do not act" in Line 1 of Hexagram 1?

Line 1 of Hexagram 1 appears when a creative vision is genuine but premature: the idea has force, the urge to move is strong, and external conditions are not yet supportive. The counsel is not to abandon the vision but to develop it out of sight, learning the craft and building the resources until the timing arrives. The reward for waiting is Line 2, where the dragon enters the field on favorable terms. Forcing the move at Line 1 spends the energy of Hexagram 1 on ground that cannot hold it.

How should I understand the "arrogant dragon" warning of Line 6 in Hexagram 1?

Line 6 of Hexagram 1 is the clearest teaching in the I Ching on the danger of unchecked power. When creative force stops serving anything beyond itself, when a leader acts only to hold position, the dragon becomes arrogant and "will have cause to repent." The Wenyan commentary puts it sharply: the arrogant dragon knows how to advance but not how to retreat, knows existence but not annihilation. The instruction is voluntary restraint at the peak rather than after the fall, a theme approached from the other direction in I Ching Hexagram 63 - After Completion (Ji Ji): Success Is Not the End.

Which hexagram does each changing line of Hexagram 1 turn into?

Each changing line in Hexagram 1 replaces one yang line with a yin line, so every single-line result is one of the six hexagrams containing exactly one broken line, and the position of that broken line tells you where the creative force is heading. Line 1 moving turns Hexagram 1 into Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet (Gou), Wind beneath Heaven: something small and unplanned has entered underneath the situation, which is why the hidden dragon is told to hold still. Line 2 produces Hexagram 13, Fellowship with Men (Tong Ren), Fire beneath Heaven: the dragon in the field finds company, and the reading turns toward alliance and shared purpose. Line 3 produces Hexagram 10, Treading (Lu), Lake beneath Heaven, the hexagram of walking carefully behind something powerful, which matches the exhaustion and exposure of the third line exactly. Line 4 produces Hexagram 9, The Taming Power of the Small (Xiao Chu), Wind above Heaven: great force checked by a small restraint, the wavering flight held in place a while longer. Line 5 produces Hexagram 14, Possession in Great Measure (Da You), Fire above Heaven, among the most fortunate hexagrams in the book. Line 6 produces Hexagram 43, Breakthrough (Guai), Lake above Heaven, where one soft element at the top must be removed.

Reading the relating hexagram alongside the line text is where a cast of Hexagram 1 stops being generic. The pairing of Line 5 with Hexagram 14 is the strongest reading available anywhere in the sequence, since the flying dragon at the peak of expression resolves into abundance held in the right hands. The pairing of Line 6 with Hexagram 43 is the sharpest warning, because Breakthrough describes a community that has agreed something at the top has to go, and receiving it as the outcome of the arrogant dragon means the removal is being organized without you. Line 4 into Hexagram 9 is the most commonly misread of the six: people take the wavering flight as failure of nerve, but The Taming Power of the Small describes accumulation under restraint, dense clouds that have not yet released rain. Note also that Hexagram 44 and Hexagram 43 are mirror images, one yin line entering at the bottom and one leaving at the top, so the first and last lines of Hexagram 1 point at two views of the same event.

Do you read the changing line text or the resulting hexagram first in Hexagram 1?

Read the changing line text of Hexagram 1 first and the resulting hexagram second, because the line text answers the question you asked while the resulting hexagram describes where the situation is moving. With a single moving line, the line text of Hexagram 1 carries most of the reading. With two or three moving lines, most practitioners weight the highest moving line of Hexagram 1 most heavily. The mechanics of casting coins or yarrow stalks and identifying old yang lines are set out in I Ching Beginner's Guide: How to Consult the Book of Changes.

Why does the first changing line of Hexagram 1 produce Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet?

The first changing line of Hexagram 1 produces Hexagram 44 because a single yin line entering at the bottom of six yang lines forms Wind beneath Heaven, the structure of Gou. Classical commentary treats that lone yin line as an encounter that arrives unbidden and looks harmless at its scale, yet stands at the root of the situation. Set against the text of Line 1, "Hidden dragon, do not act," the pairing sharpens the counsel: the reason not to move is not that the timing is early, but that something new has already entered at the base of the matter and has not shown what it is.

What does it mean when Line 5 of Hexagram 1 changes into Hexagram 14?

When Line 5 of Hexagram 1 changes, the flying dragon becomes Hexagram 14, Possession in Great Measure, Fire above Heaven, and the reading describes creative power that has produced real, visible abundance. The single yin line in Hexagram 14 sits in the ruler position and holds all five yang lines through openness rather than force, the traditional picture of authority that attracts loyalty instead of compelling it. The combination says the peak is genuine and the results are yours to steward, and since what follows the peak is governed by Line 6, the instruction is to consolidate rather than push for more altitude.

How do position, centrality, and correspondence work in Hexagram 1?

Traditional line analysis judges every hexagram by three tests, and Hexagram 1 gives an unusually clean result on all three. The first test is correctness (dang wei): odd places one, three, and five are yang places, even places two, four, and six are yin places, and a line is correct when its nature matches its place. In Hexagram 1 the lines in places one, three, and five are correct, while the yang lines in places two, four, and six are technically out of place. The second test is centrality (zhong): place two is the center of the lower trigram and place five the center of the upper, and centrality generally outweighs correctness. Line 5 of Hexagram 1 is both central and correct, which is why it is the ruler line and carries the flying dragon. Line 2 is central but not correct, and its text compensates by sending the querent to find the great man. The third test is correspondence (ying), pairing line 1 with 4, line 2 with 5, and line 3 with 6, and it holds only when the paired lines are opposite in nature. Every pair in Hexagram 1 is yang with yang, so Hexagram 1 has no correspondence at all.

The total absence of correspondence explains why Hexagram 1 reads the way it does. No line has a partner that answers it, so every line stands on its own resources and the energy has no internal place to discharge. That is the mechanical reason the caution in Hexagram 1 arrives from the top rather than from the middle: with no yin to absorb it, yang keeps rising until it runs out of sky. It also explains why the line texts send the querent to seek allies twice, at Line 2 and again at Line 5, since what Hexagram 1 cannot supply internally has to be found outside it. Line 3 is the most exposed line for the opposite reason, correct in a yang place but sitting at the top of the lower trigram, past the safety of centrality and not yet in the upper world. The Duke of Zhou gives that position the only "danger" in the hexagram, while the balanced meeting of Heaven and Earth belongs to I Ching Hexagram 11 - Peace: Meaning & Interpretation.

What are the six lines of Hexagram 1 called in traditional notation?

Every line of Hexagram 1 is a nine, since nine is the number of yang, and the traditional names read from the bottom up: chu jiu (nine at the beginning), jiu er (nine in the second place), jiu san (nine in the third place), jiu si (nine in the fourth place), jiu wu (nine in the fifth place), and shang jiu (nine at the top). Hexagram 1 then adds one more label found nowhere else except its counterpart, yong jiu, the use of nine, which governs the all-nines cast. Most translations head the line texts of Hexagram 1 this way rather than by number.

Why is Line 5 the ruler line of Hexagram 1?

Line 5 is the ruler line of Hexagram 1 because it is the only line passing both classical tests at once: central, sitting in the middle of the upper trigram, and correct, a yang line in a yang place. Place five is the sovereign position in every hexagram, and in Hexagram 1 a yang line occupies it with nothing diluting its nature. The flying dragon text belongs there for that reason rather than by poetic choice. When Line 5 of Hexagram 1 moves, the change touches the governing principle of the situation, not a detail of it.

What does it mean that Hexagram 1 has no corresponding lines?

Hexagram 1 has no corresponding lines because correspondence requires opposite polarity between paired positions, and all three pairs in Hexagram 1 are yang with yang. In interpretive terms, a hexagram without correspondence describes a situation with no built-in feedback: no line checks another, and the momentum meets no resistance from inside. That is the state that makes Hexagram 1 so productive at the start and so dangerous at the top. Practitioners reading Hexagram 1 for a querent already overextended usually put the weight of the reading on this point rather than on the encouragement of the judgment.

What does Confucius say about Hexagram 1 in the Ten Wings?

The Ten Wings devote more space to Hexagram 1 than to any other hexagram, and that commentary produced some of the most influential philosophical writing in Chinese history. The Wenyan (Commentary on the Words of the Text), traditionally attributed to Confucius, treats Hexagram 1 as a treatise on moral self-cultivation rather than as a divinatory entry. It reads the Four Virtues as ethical capacities: yuan is the ability to bring all beings to their proper beginning, heng is the power to draw things together in harmony, li is the capacity to act in accordance with what is right, and zhen is the strength to sustain things to completion. The Tuanzhuan (Commentary on the Judgment) raises the register further: "Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all beings owe their beginning and which permeates all heaven." The Xiangzhuan (Commentary on the Image) supplies the practical conclusion: "The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior person makes himself strong and untiring."

The line-by-line commentary of the Wenyan draws ethical teaching out of divinatory imagery without discarding the imagery. On Line 1 it says the dragon lies hidden because it is not yet time to act, and the superior person cultivates virtue and waits for the proper moment. On Line 2 it says the superior person learns and gathers, questions and discriminates, magnanimous in nature yet careful in conduct. On Line 5 it says that things which accord in tone vibrate together, and things with affinity in their inmost natures seek one another. That passage became a foundation for the Chinese concept of ganying, sympathetic resonance, which went on to shape music theory and medical philosophy far outside divination.

What are the Ten Wings and why do they matter for Hexagram 1?

The Ten Wings are ten appendices to the I Ching traditionally attributed to Confucius, though modern scholarship dates them to the Warring States period and later. They include the Tuanzhuan (Commentary on the Judgment), the Xiangzhuan (Commentary on the Image), the Wenyan (Commentary on the Words of the Text), and the Xici or Great Commentary. For Hexagram 1 the Wenyan matters most, since it exists in full form for only two hexagrams and gives Hexagram 1 its longest classical treatment, turning a divination entry into moral philosophy quoted for two millennia.

How did Confucian commentary connect Hexagram 1 to moral self-cultivation?

Confucian commentary reads the ascent of the dragon through the six lines of Hexagram 1 as the junzi, the superior person, developing virtue by stages. The hidden dragon is the student building character in obscurity, the dragon in the field is emergence into public service, the flying dragon is the mature figure whose influence benefits many, and the arrogant dragon is that same figure failing to know when to stop. Each stage of Hexagram 1 demands a different quality, patience at the bottom and restraint at the top.

What is the concept of sympathetic resonance in Hexagram 1?

Sympathetic resonance, ganying, comes from the Wenyan commentary on Line 5 of Hexagram 1, which states that things according in tone vibrate together. The principle holds that like energies attract and amplify one another with no force applied between them, the way one struck string sets another of the same pitch moving. Applied to a reading of Hexagram 1, it means the creative person draws the circumstances and allies matching what they actually are rather than what they advertise, which Hilary Barrett summarizes as creative power working by attraction rather than by force.

What does Hexagram 1 mean in a relationship or love reading?

In a relationship reading, Hexagram 1 describes a dynamic driven by strong yang energy and forward momentum, and for a new connection it indicates powerful attraction and the expansive early phase where building something together feels obvious and urgent. The specific risk of Hexagram 1 in love follows from its structure: a hexagram with six yang lines and no correspondence has nothing in it that receives, so two people both running pure Creative energy tend to produce a contest rather than a partnership. The counterweight is receptivity, treated in I Ching Hexagram 2 - The Receptive: Meaning & Interpretation. For someone seeking a partner, Hexagram 1 instructs through its own line sequence: the hidden dragon of Line 1 meets nobody, while the dragon in the field of Line 2 becomes visible and attracts notice. For an established partnership, Hexagram 1 often marks a stretch where one person is absorbed in a personal vision, healthy while the relationship still gets attention, and the arrogant dragon of Line 6 applies to love as directly as to power.

The six lines of Hexagram 1 give couples a usable timeline: private attraction at the hidden dragon, public courtship at the dragon in the field, the working phase at Line 3 with its warning about exhaustion, the commitment decision at the wavering flight of Line 4, partnership at full expression at the flying dragon, and taking each other for granted at the arrogant dragon. Locating a relationship on that sequence is more useful than judging it, since each position of Hexagram 1 has its own correct response and the responses are not interchangeable.

Does Hexagram 1 favor starting a new relationship?

Yes. Hexagram 1 is among the most favorable hexagrams for beginning a new relationship, because it carries maximum initiating energy and its judgment promises sublime success through perseverance. The condition is that the approach be direct rather than strategic, since The Creative works through genuine strength and not through calculated moves. The emphasis on zhen in the judgment of Hexagram 1 also implies that early intensity is a starting condition rather than a guarantee.

What does Hexagram 1 mean for an existing relationship in difficulty?

For a troubled relationship, Hexagram 1 calls for creative initiative to break a stalemate: someone has to name the problem and move the situation, since the hexagram contains no receptive line that makes waiting productive. The initiative must carry the virtue of zhen, correctness, with it. A solution imposed through dominance triggers the arrogant dragon pattern of Line 6, so the practical form of Hexagram 1 here is bold action offered rather than bold action applied.

What does Hexagram 1 mean for career, business, and money?

Hexagram 1 is the strongest career and business hexagram in the I Ching, standing for entrepreneurial vision, executive leadership, and the making of something where nothing existed. Received in a professional question, Hexagram 1 says extraordinary creative energy is available and conditions favor decisive initiative. The Four Virtues map onto business directly: yuan is an original vision that meets a real need, heng is building systems that make success repeatable, li is an enterprise that benefits everyone it touches, and zhen is holding standards when a shortcut is available and nobody would notice. Financially, Hexagram 1 favors growth and new ventures over preservation of capital, while warning hard against overextension. The changing lines refine the timing. Line 1 says prepare before launching. Line 2 says the moment to become visible has arrived. Line 3 warns of burnout. Line 4 marks a decision that sets the direction of everything that follows. Line 5 marks peak influence. Line 6 warns that refusing to adapt or to delegate undermines everything already built.

Alfred Huang connects the business application of Hexagram 1 to the Chinese concept of shi, the strategic momentum stored in a situation. When The Creative appears in a business question, shi is at maximum, meaning moves that would be reckless in another season are correctly timed now. The relating hexagrams sharpen this. A Line 2 cast of Hexagram 1 resolving into Hexagram 13, Fellowship with Men, reads as a venture that succeeds through partnership rather than solo effort, which is concrete guidance about cofounders. A Line 4 cast resolving into Hexagram 9, The Taming Power of the Small, reads as a business held up by something minor but immovable, a permit or a single holdout, where the correct response is accumulation rather than confrontation.

Should I start a new business if I receive Hexagram 1?

Hexagram 1 is among the strongest possible endorsements for entrepreneurial action, since doubled Heaven indicates that internal capacity and external conditions both support creation. The refinement comes from the moving lines. Line 1 of Hexagram 1 says wait and prepare. Line 2 says seek allies and mentors before scaling. Lines 3 and 4 indicate a venture already underway and facing strain or a genuine fork. Line 5 signals optimal conditions. Line 6 warns that the venture is being launched from overconfidence. With no moving lines, the judgment applies plainly and the answer is yes, with perseverance attached as the condition.

What does Hexagram 1 mean for job seekers?

For a job search, Hexagram 1 advises creating opportunities instead of applying into queues: contact decision-makers directly and demonstrate capability through something made rather than through credentials alone. The dragon sequence is the instruction set. Become visible at Line 2 rather than perfecting a resume in private, expect the sustained effort of Line 3, and aim at roles that allow the full expression of Line 5. A hidden dragon does not get hired, and Hexagram 1 also suggests declining a role that would keep your capability out of sight.

How do you work with Hexagram 1 in daily practice?

Working with Hexagram 1 in daily practice starts from one question: which of the six dragon stages describes what you are actually doing right now? Hexagram 1 concerns the quality of attention an action comes from as much as the action itself, the state of aligned creative intent where personal will and the movement of events stop fighting each other. A common contemplative practice on Hexagram 1 is to build the six lines as bands of light from the base of the spine to the crown, beginning with the hidden dragon coiled at the bottom as latent potential and moving upward through emergence, sustained work, decision, full expression, and the release of creative attachment at the top. Fifteen to twenty minutes is typical, often used before demanding creative work or a negotiation. The six lines make one point repeatedly: creation moves through stages and cannot be jumped from hidden potential to full flight, and applying the wrong stage's virtue is the usual way a promising project fails.

Hilary Barrett suggests using Hexagram 1 as a journaling prompt with two questions: where in my life am I called to create, and where is my dragon right now, hidden, emerging, working, deciding, flying, or overreaching? Mapping current projects onto the six stages of Hexagram 1 tends to expose a specific mismatch, usually a project being pushed at Line 5 intensity while it is objectively still at Line 1. Alfred Huang recommends keeping a divination journal recording each consultation and what actually happened afterward, a record worth most for a hexagram like Hexagram 1, whose encouragement is easy to hear as blanket permission.

How can I use Hexagram 1 as a daily meditation?

Take one line of Hexagram 1 each morning as the focus for that day, sitting with the dragon image belonging to that line and considering how it maps to what the day requires. A day that demands waiting belongs to the hidden dragon of Line 1, a day of presenting or pitching to the dragon in the field of Line 2, a day at peak output to the flying dragon of Line 5. Rotating through the six lines of Hexagram 1 over six days builds a rhythm of creative self-assessment.

What books best explain Hexagram 1 for modern readers?

Three translations cover Hexagram 1 from different angles. Wilhelm/Baynes, published by Princeton University Press, gives the classic scholarly rendering with Jungian framing and the fullest presentation of the Wenyan material on Hexagram 1. Alfred Huang's The Complete I Ching gives the most thorough treatment of the Chinese characters and traditional commentary. Hilary Barrett's I Ching: Walking Your Path, Creating Your Future gives the most usable modern application. Reading all three on Hexagram 1 takes about an hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Hexagram 1 The Creative mean in the I Ching?

Hexagram 1 (Qian, The Creative) is the most yang hexagram in the I Ching, six unbroken lines forming doubled Heaven trigrams. In the Wilhelm/Baynes translation its judgment reads "The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance." Hexagram 1 stands for the primal creative force, the initiating power that sets things in motion. Drawing Hexagram 1 says you have tremendous creative energy available, and it favors bold action provided that action keeps its integrity.

How do I interpret the changing lines in Hexagram 1?

Each of the six lines of Hexagram 1 carries its own guidance when it appears as a changing line (old yang, coin value 9). Line 1 says "Hidden dragon, do not act," meaning the power of Hexagram 1 is latent and the timing is not right. Line 2 says "Dragon appearing in the field," emergence into visibility. Line 3 warns of danger from unbroken exertion. Line 4 marks a wavering flight over the depths, a genuine choice point. Line 5, the ruler line, announces "Flying dragon in the heavens." Line 6 warns that "the arrogant dragon will have cause to repent."

What does all six lines changing mean in Hexagram 1?

When all six lines of Hexagram 1 change at once, a seventh text applies that belongs to no other hexagram except its counterpart: yong jiu, "the use of nine." It reads "There appears a flight of dragons without heads. Good fortune." This all-nines condition describes creative power operating without a dominating ego, since the dragons show no heads and no one will leads the flight. An all-nines cast of Hexagram 1 turns the whole hexagram into Hexagram 2, The Receptive, so maximum yang hands the situation straight over to maximum yin.

Which hexagram does Hexagram 1 change into?

Hexagram 1 changes into a different hexagram depending on which line moves, and each result is one of the six hexagrams holding a single yin line. Line 1 moving turns Hexagram 1 into Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet. Line 2 produces Hexagram 13, Fellowship with Men. Line 3 produces Hexagram 10, Treading. Line 4 produces Hexagram 9, The Taming Power of the Small. Line 5 produces Hexagram 14, Possession in Great Measure. Line 6 produces Hexagram 43, Breakthrough. If every line moves, Hexagram 1 becomes Hexagram 2, The Receptive.

What is the nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 1?

The nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 1 is Hexagram 1 itself. Nuclear hexagrams are formed by taking lines 2-3-4 as the lower trigram and lines 3-4-5 as the upper trigram, and since every line of Hexagram 1 is yang, both nuclear trigrams are Heaven. This self-referential quality belongs only to Hexagram 1 and Hexagram 2, and it indicates that pure creative force contains nothing but more creative force at every level, with no hidden inner situation waiting to be uncovered.

What does Confucius say about Hexagram 1?

The Ten Wings devote more commentary to Hexagram 1 than to any other hexagram, and the Wenyan (Commentary on the Words of the Text), traditionally attributed to Confucius, treats it as a treatise on moral cultivation. The Wenyan reads each of the Four Virtues of Hexagram 1 as an ethical capacity rather than a cosmic attribute alone. The Tuanzhuan (Commentary on the Judgment) states "Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all beings owe their beginning." The Xiangzhuan supplies the line most quoted from Hexagram 1: "The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior person makes himself strong and untiring."