I Ching Hexagram 19: Approach - Meaning, Changing Lines and Guidance

I Ching Hexagram 19, Approach (Lin), shows two strong yang lines rising beneath four yielding ones: an influence that is growing, welcomed, and working against a deadline. Its Judgement promises supreme success and then warns about the eighth month, and each of its six changing lines names a different quality of approach.

What does I Ching Hexagram 19, Approach, mean?

I Ching Hexagram 19, Approach, means a strong influence is rising from the bottom of a situation and drawing near to everything above it, with the ground still soft enough to receive it. The figure has two solid yang lines at the base and four broken yin lines stacked over them, so the reading is one of advance rather than arrival. Its Chinese name is Lin, a character carrying the sense of drawing close, of looking down from higher ground, and of taking charge of what you look down on. Wilhelm and Baynes render it as Approach, and the word covers both the approach you make toward a task and the approach a superior makes toward the people under him. Hexagram 19 belongs to the twelve tidal hexagrams that map the year, holding the twelfth lunar month, the stretch after the winter solstice when daylight has turned but the cold has not broken. That placement is the whole flavor of hexagram 19 meaning: something real has started, the momentum is yours, and the season is early. Readers who draw it are usually at the beginning of something they will still be building a year later.

The Sequence of Hexagrams places Approach directly after Hexagram 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled, with the note that when there is work to be done a thing can become great, and that Lin means becoming great. That tells you the strength in hexagram 19 is not luck. It is what accumulates after a repair job. The two yang lines at the base of I Ching Hexagram 19 stand where the previous hexagram left rubble cleared, and they press upward into space that has been made for them. The Tuan commentary describes the figure as the strong soaking upward and growing, joyous and compliant, with strength in the center and an answering line above. Every clause there is doing work. The advance is gradual rather than forced, the situation greets it rather than resisting, and the person at the second place has a genuine counterpart at the fifth. Practitioners reading i ching approach treat it as one of the more encouraging figures in the book, but they read the growth curve carefully. Two yang lines out of six is a beginning, not a majority.

Where does Hexagram 19 sit in the cycle of twelve tidal hexagrams?

Hexagram 19, Approach, is the second figure in the waxing half of the tidal cycle. Hexagram 24, Return, carries a single yang line and the eleventh month at the winter solstice. Hexagram 19 adds a second yang and takes the twelfth month. Hexagram 11, Peace, adds a third and takes the first month of spring. Approach is the moment the turn becomes undeniable.

Is Hexagram 19 about approaching others or being approached?

Hexagram 19, Approach, works in both directions, and the changing lines tell you which applies. The two yang lines at the bottom do the approaching, moving upward with real force. The four yin lines above receive that approach and decide how to meet it. Lines 1 and 2 read as your initiative; lines 4, 5 and 6 read as your response to someone else's.

What is the King Wen number and structure of Hexagram 19?

Hexagram 19 is the nineteenth figure in the King Wen sequence, built from the bottom up as solid, solid, broken, broken, broken, broken. That makes Dui, the Lake, the lower trigram and Kun, the Earth, the upper trigram. It partners with Hexagram 20, Contemplation, the same figure turned upside down.

Which two trigrams form Hexagram 19, and why does Lake under Earth mean Approach?

Hexagram 19, Approach, is formed from Dui, the Lake, in the lower position and Kun, the Earth, in the upper position, and the combination means Approach because the bank of a lake stands directly over the water and looks down into it. That is the physical picture the early commentators worked from. Earth borders the water from above, closer to it than any other landform gets, so the trigram pair produces nearness rather than distance. Dui is the joyous trigram, tied to the marsh, the mouth and speech, pleasure taken in company, and the youngest daughter. Kun is receptivity itself, the mother, the yielding ground, the multitude that follows. Put pleasure underneath devotion and you get an advance that is welcomed instead of resisted, which is why the Judgement of hexagram 19 is so favorable. The two strong lines at the base are the floor of the lake, pushing up. The four yielding lines are earth resting on them, heavy but not hostile. Nothing in hexagram 19 approach suggests force. The Lake below is happy to rise and the Earth above is willing to be reached, and that mutual willingness is the mechanism the hexagram describes.

The trigram order matters more here than in most figures. Swap the two, putting Earth below Lake, and you get Hexagram 45, Gathering Together, where water collects on the surface of the ground and a crowd forms around a center. Hexagram 19 has the lake set into the earth instead, contained and overlooked. Containment is why Lin also carries the meaning of supervision. In imperial usage the word described an officer coming down to inspect a district, physically present rather than governing at a distance. The upper trigram Kun supplies the inexhaustible quality: earth has no limit to how much it can hold, and a lake never exhausts the bank around it. The lower trigram Dui supplies the reason anyone cooperates, since Dui is pleasure and open speech. Read together, I Ching Hexagram 19 describes authority that arrives in person, speaks plainly, and is glad to be there. That is the difference between Approach and the harder advance hexagrams. This strength does not have to break anything to move, because the material above it has already agreed to give way.

What does the Dui trigram contribute to Hexagram 19?

Dui, the Lake, contributes joy and speech to Hexagram 19, Approach. It is the trigram of open mouths and easy company, so the advance described by Hexagram 19 happens through conversation, persuasion and shared pleasure rather than through pressure. Dui also explains the flaw at line 3, where the pleasure of Dui reaches its top and curdles into sweet talk with nothing behind it.

What does the Kun trigram contribute to Hexagram 19?

Kun, the Earth, contributes capacity and consent to Hexagram 19, Approach. As the receptive trigram it carries no resistance of its own, so the two yang lines below can rise without a fight. Kun is also why the three top lines of Hexagram 19 read so favorably: they are earth in its own element, and their job is to hold and support rather than to act.

How does Hexagram 19 differ from Hexagram 45, which uses the same trigrams?

Hexagram 19, Approach, places Dui below Kun, and Hexagram 45, Gathering Together, places Kun below Dui. In Hexagram 19 the earth stands over the water and oversees it, which produces supervision and advance. In Hexagram 45 the water pools on top of the ground and draws everyone toward one spot, which produces assembly. Same two trigrams, opposite direction of attention.

What does the Judgement of Hexagram 19 say about the eighth month?

The Judgement of Hexagram 19 reads: Approach has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune. It opens with the four-character formula marking the strongest hexagrams in the book and then attaches a deadline, which is what makes hexagram 19 judgement so distinctive. The eighth month clause is usually explained through the tidal cycle. Approach holds the twelfth lunar month with two yang lines rising. Count eight months forward and you reach the eighth month, whose figure is Hexagram 20, Contemplation, where those two yang lines have been pushed to the top and four yin lines occupy the ground beneath them. The strength has not been destroyed. It has been displaced into the position of an observer. That is the misfortune named here: not disaster, but the end of your window to act while acting is still easy. Practitioners read the clause as a time limit, not a curse. Whatever you start under I Ching Hexagram 19 has a season attached, and the perseverance the Judgement asks for is what carries the work past that turn.

Commentators have never fully agreed on how to count the eight months, worth knowing before you quote a date to anyone. One reading counts from the twelfth month of Approach forward to the eighth month of Contemplation. Another counts from Hexagram 24, Return, at the solstice, which lands the warning elsewhere in the year. A third treats the number as a figure for a full swing of the cycle rather than a calendar entry. In practice, readers treat the eighth month of hexagram 19 approach as a proportional window: eight units of whatever time frame the question lives in. For a business question that might be eight months. For a conversation it might be eight weeks. What survives every version is the shape of the warning. Growth arriving this easily is riding a seasonal advantage, and seasons turn. The Judgement pairs supreme success with a deadline in the same breath, and the two halves are meant to be held together. Move now, and build something that can stand when the momentum stops carrying you.

Does the eighth month warning in Hexagram 19 mean the outcome will fail?

No. The eighth month warning in Hexagram 19, Approach, marks the end of a favorable window, not the failure of the venture. In the tidal cycle the eighth month figure is Hexagram 20, Contemplation, where the strong lines have been pushed to the top and can only watch. What fails is the ease of the advance. What you have already built by then remains yours.

Why does the Judgement of Hexagram 19 ask for perseverance?

The Judgement of Hexagram 19, Approach, asks for perseverance because only two of its six lines are strong. Supreme success is available while the yang lines are growing, but that growth has to be maintained deliberately. Perseverance here means holding the correct course after the initial welcome fades, which is the exact quality the eighth month clause is testing.

What are the four characters that open the Judgement of Hexagram 19?

The Judgement of Hexagram 19, Approach, opens with yuan heng li zhen, the four-character formula that also opens Hexagram 1 and Hexagram 2. Wilhelm and Baynes translate the sequence in Hexagram 19 as supreme success and perseverance furthers. Its presence marks Approach as one of the small group of hexagrams carrying the book's fullest endorsement.

What does the Image of Hexagram 19 teach about teaching and protection?

The Image of Hexagram 19 reads: The earth above the lake, the image of Approach. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible in his will to teach, and without limits in his tolerance and protection of the people. It draws two duties out of the trigram picture, both from the physical properties of the arrangement. The earth banks surrounding a lake never run out of capacity to hold it, so the person acting on Hexagram 19 does not run out of patience for explaining things. The ground extends around the water on every side, so the protection offered has no boundary drawn around who qualifies. This is the clearest statement in the book that authority and instruction are the same activity. Lin means coming near to what you supervise, and the Image says what you do once you are near: you teach, and you shelter. Readers drawing hexagram 19 approach on a leadership question are handed this standard directly. Not the strategy of the situation, but the manner of it. The two strong lines below rise toward people who will need to be taught, and the four yielding lines above are the ground that has to hold them without complaint.

There is a reason the Image reaches for teaching rather than command. The lower trigram of I Ching Hexagram 19 is Dui, the mouth and open speech, so the strength in this figure expresses itself in words before anything else. Combine that with Kun above, whose defining virtue is carrying without judgment, and the instruction is to speak generously to people not yet at your level. The word rendered as inexhaustible describes a supply that keeps producing rather than a stockpile that lasts a long time, a meaningful difference for anyone doing this work. Teaching under Hexagram 19 is not rationed. You explain the same thing again to the next person who needs it, at the same quality, without treating repetition as a cost. The second duty, tolerance and protection without limits, follows the geography of a lake basin: the bank does not choose which part of the water to hold. Practitioners use the Image of Hexagram 19 as the corrective for line 3, the one place in the figure where charm is substituted for this kind of substantive care.

Why does the Image of Hexagram 19 emphasize teaching specifically?

The Image of Hexagram 19, Approach, emphasizes teaching because the lower trigram Dui governs the mouth and speech while the upper trigram Kun governs unlimited capacity. Speech offered without limit is instruction. Approach describes strength moving up into a position where others watch it closely, and teaching is how that strength transfers rather than merely dominating.

What kind of protection does the Image of Hexagram 19 describe?

The Image of Hexagram 19, Approach, describes protection with no boundary on who receives it, drawn from the way earth surrounds a lake on every side. It is not rescue or defense against a named enemy. It is the standing willingness to hold and support whoever falls within your reach, which is the practical form Kun's receptivity takes in a person.

How do readers apply the Image of Hexagram 19 to a management question?

Readers apply the Image of Hexagram 19, Approach, to a management question as a standard of conduct rather than a tactic. It asks if you are physically present with the people you are responsible for, if you explain things without resenting the time, and if your protection covers the person you find difficult as readily as your favorite.

What do changing lines 1, 2 and 3 of Hexagram 19 mean?

The first three changing lines of Hexagram 19 cover the two strong lines making the advance and the weak line that first meets them. Nine at the beginning reads: Joint approach. Perseverance brings good fortune. It is a yang line in a yang place, correct in position and answering the fourth line above, and it marks the first genuine stirring of the advance. The good fortune is conditional because the influence is new and small. Nine in the second place reads: Joint approach. Good fortune. Everything furthers. That promise is unconditional, because this line holds the center of the lower trigram and corresponds with the ruler at the fifth place. The commentary adds that the line does not act on orders, meaning its advance comes from its own strength rather than permission. Six in the third place reads: Sweet approach. Nothing that would further. If one is induced to grieve over it, one becomes free of blame. That is the warning line among hexagram 19 changing lines, a yielding line in a strong place at the top of the joyous trigram, where pleasantness has run past usefulness. The correction offered is unusually direct: real concern about the fault removes it.

Lines 1 and 2 share the same Chinese phrase, xian lin, which Wilhelm renders as joint approach and which carries the sense of an advance including everyone rather than one person's private push. What separates them is position. Line 1 sits at the very bottom with no track record, so the text attaches perseverance as the price of its good fortune. Line 2 sits in the central place of the lower trigram, and centrality in the I Ching outweighs positional correctness, which is why its judgement is the most unqualified sentence in the hexagram. Line 3 is where I Ching Hexagram 19 turns critical, and the criticism is precise. Gan means sweet, the taste of something honeyed, and gan lin is the manager who charms the room and settles nothing. The line has no answering line above it, so its warmth goes nowhere. The escape route matters as much as the fault: the text requires no punishment, only that you actually mind. Grieving over the sweet approach means recognizing that likeability was substituting for substance, and blame lifts the moment you do.

What does line 1 of Hexagram 19 mean in a reading?

Line 1 of Hexagram 19, Approach, means your influence has genuinely begun but has no weight behind it yet, so results depend on whether you keep at it. It is the first yang line at the base, correct in position and answering line 4. When line 1 changes, Hexagram 19 becomes Hexagram 7, The Army, shifting the question toward discipline and organization.

Why is line 2 the strongest line of Hexagram 19?

Line 2 of Hexagram 19, Approach, is the strongest line because it combines yang strength with the central position of the lower trigram and a full correspondence with the yielding ruler at line 5. Its text grants good fortune with no condition attached. When line 2 changes, Hexagram 19 becomes Hexagram 24, Return, sending the question back to the very start of the cycle.

What is the sweet approach warning at line 3 of Hexagram 19?

The sweet approach at line 3 of Hexagram 19 is influence exercised through flattery and easy charm with no substance underneath it. The text says nothing furthers, then offers a way out: genuine concern about the fault clears the blame. When line 3 changes, Hexagram 19 becomes Hexagram 11, Peace, which is what honest effort in that seat would produce instead.

What do changing lines 4, 5 and 6 of Hexagram 19 mean?

The upper three changing lines of Hexagram 19 are all yielding lines meeting the advance from below, and all three are favorable. Six in the fourth place reads: Complete approach. No blame. The character zhi means arriving all the way, and this line is correctly placed, adjacent to the ruler and answering the first yang line at the bottom. It describes an officer who reaches past rank to the person actually doing the work. Six in the fifth place reads: Wise approach. This is right for a great prince. Good fortune. That is the ruling seat of hexagram 19 approach, held by a yielding line that is central and paired with the strong line 2. Its wisdom lies in delegation rather than performance. Six at the top reads: Great-hearted approach. Good fortune. No blame. The word dun means thick and earnest, the quality of generous substance, a striking judgement for a top line, since sixth lines usually mark excess or exhaustion. This one is furthest from the two rising yang lines yet still turns toward them wholeheartedly, and the tradition treats that as the finest quality in the figure.

Read together, these three show how I Ching Hexagram 19 handles power. Line 4 is the only upper line with a direct link to the bottom of the hexagram, and its virtue is that it uses it. In an organization that is the senior person who talks to the newest hire without an intermediary, which the text rewards with no blame rather than with fortune, because the act is simply correct. Line 5 is the classic I Ching statement about intelligent authority. A yielding ruler in a strong position is a weakness in many hexagrams, but in Approach it is exactly right, since a ruler who insists on doing the work personally blocks the advance the hexagram describes. Line 6 is the one most readers underestimate. Distance usually produces detachment in a top line, yet dun lin describes someone with every excuse to stand back who commits generously anyway. Practitioners read it as the retired founder, the senior figure with no operational stake who still shows up warm. When line 6 changes, Approach becomes Hexagram 41, Decrease, which is what that generosity costs and why it counts.

What does line 5 of Hexagram 19 say about leadership?

Line 5 of Hexagram 19, Approach, says leadership means knowing whom to trust rather than doing the work yourself. It is a yielding line in the ruler's seat, central and paired with the strong line 2 below. The text calls this wise approach and fitting for a great prince. When line 5 changes, Hexagram 19 becomes Hexagram 60, Limitation.

Why is line 6 of Hexagram 19 favorable when most top lines are not?

Line 6 of Hexagram 19, Approach, is favorable because it stands at the top of the Earth trigram, where thickness and generosity are the native virtues rather than excess. The text calls it great-hearted approach and grants both good fortune and freedom from blame. It is the line furthest from the rising strength below, and it commits to that strength anyway.

What does line 4 of Hexagram 19 mean for someone in a senior role?

Line 4 of Hexagram 19, Approach, means a senior person should reach all the way down to the people at the base of the situation, not just to the layer immediately below. The line answers the first yang line at the bottom of the hexagram and earns no blame for doing so. When line 4 changes, Hexagram 19 becomes Hexagram 54, The Marrying Maiden.

What are the nuclear and opposite hexagrams of Hexagram 19?

The nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 19 is Hexagram 24, Return, and its opposite hexagram is Hexagram 33, Retreat. The nuclear figure comes from taking lines 2, 3 and 4 of Approach as a lower trigram, which gives Zhen, Thunder, and lines 3, 4 and 5 as an upper trigram, which gives Kun, Earth. Earth over Thunder is Return, the single yang line stirring underground at the winter solstice. That is what sits at the core of hexagram 19 meaning: the whole advance is powered by one original turn, and its inner nature is a beginning that has barely happened. The opposite hexagram comes from reversing every line. Two yang below four yin becomes two yin below four yang, which is Heaven over Mountain, Hexagram 33, Retreat. Approach and Retreat are mirrors in the tidal cycle too, one holding the twelfth month with strength rising and the other the sixth with strength withdrawing. Turning Hexagram 19 upside down instead produces Hexagram 20, Contemplation, its partner in the King Wen pairs and the figure named in its own eighth month warning.

Each relative gives a reader a different tool. The nuclear Hexagram 24 is the diagnostic one. When someone draws I Ching Hexagram 19 and cannot see where the momentum is supposed to come from, the nuclear figure points back to a single small turn already made, often something the questioner has dismissed as insignificant. The opposite Hexagram 33 clarifies what Approach is not. Retreat is strength choosing distance to preserve itself; Approach is strength choosing nearness because nearness is safe right now. Ask which of the two your situation rewards and the answer is usually obvious. Hexagram 20, Contemplation, is the sharpest relative, because Hexagram 19 names it in its own Judgement. Turn Approach on its head and the two strong lines that were pushing up from the floor sit on the roof, looking out over four yielding lines with no leverage left. Contemplation has its own dignity, but the warning inside Hexagram 19 is about ending up there before you have finished what you started.

How is the nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 19 calculated?

The nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 19, Approach, is calculated from its middle four lines. Lines 2, 3 and 4 form Zhen, Thunder, and lines 3, 4 and 5 form Kun, Earth. Earth above Thunder is Hexagram 24, Return. That inner figure describes one yang line stirring at the base of the year, the seed the entire advance of Hexagram 19 grows from.

What is the relationship between Hexagram 19 and Hexagram 33?

Hexagram 19, Approach, and Hexagram 33, Retreat, are exact line-by-line opposites, and they sit opposite each other in the cycle of twelve tidal hexagrams. Approach carries two yang lines rising in the twelfth month; Retreat carries two yin lines rising in the sixth. One describes strength moving closer because the ground is welcoming, the other strength withdrawing because it is not.

Why does Hexagram 19 pair with Hexagram 20 in the King Wen sequence?

Hexagram 19, Approach, pairs with Hexagram 20, Contemplation, because each is the other turned upside down, the standard pairing rule across most of the King Wen sequence. The pair also has a shared theme of position and viewing. Approach looks down on what it supervises from close range; Contemplation looks out over it from a distance.

How does Hexagram 19, Approach, read for a decision, a relationship and work?

Hexagram 19, Approach, reads as a yes with a clock attached across every kind of question. For a decision it says the conditions in front of you are unusually favorable and will not stay that way, so the risk lies in delay rather than in acting. For a relationship it says one person is moving toward the other and the other is willing, which makes it one of the warmer figures to draw on a question about closeness. For work it says influence is available at a level your formal position may not yet justify, and the way to hold it is to teach and supervise in person. The common thread is the shape of the hexagram. Two strong lines rise into four yielding ones, so in each domain there is an initiator with real force and a field that has agreed to receive it. What i ching approach never means is a finished result. Four of its six lines are still yin, another way of saying most of the outcome has not been built yet. The favorable judgement is about the conditions for building, not about the building being done.

The line you draw sharpens which version you are being handed. Line 2 in a work question is close to an unconditional green light and often points at someone below you in the structure who is about to become important. Line 3 in a relationship question is the most useful warning in hexagram 19 approach, since it describes the situation where a person is charming and attentive while committing to nothing, and it locates the fix in honest recognition rather than blame. Line 5 in a career reading rarely means do it yourself; it means find the capable person and back them. Practitioners scale the eighth month to the question. A relationship that stays in the approach phase for eight months without either party stepping past it has told you what it is. A business that has not converted its early advantage by then will likely find the season turned. None of that makes Hexagram 19 a cautious hexagram. It is one of the most encouraging figures in the book, and the encouragement is specifically about starting now.

What does Hexagram 19 mean for a decision you are hesitating over?

Hexagram 19, Approach, means the decision is favorable and time-sensitive. The two rising yang lines say the advantage is real and currently growing, and the eighth month clause in the Judgement says the window has an end. For a question about hesitation, Approach puts the risk on the side of waiting rather than on the side of moving, provided you commit to persevering afterward.

What does Hexagram 19 mean in a love or compatibility reading?

Hexagram 19, Approach, in a love reading describes one person moving toward another who is genuinely receptive, with warmth on both sides and the relationship still early. The lower trigram Dui adds pleasure and easy talk. The caution is line 3, the sweet approach, which marks affection expressed in charm alone while the actual commitment stays undefined.

What does Hexagram 19 advise about a new job or a promotion?

Hexagram 19, Approach, advises taking the position and then leading by presence. The Image asks for inexhaustible teaching and unlimited protection of the people, which is the conduct that consolidates a new role. Line 4 recommends reaching down past the layer directly beneath you, and line 5 recommends trusting a capable subordinate instead of proving yourself through personal output.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Chinese name of I Ching Hexagram 19 and what does Lin mean?

The Chinese name of I Ching Hexagram 19 is Lin. The character means to draw near, to look down from higher ground, and to take charge of what you oversee, which is why it was used for a ruler visiting a district in person. Wilhelm and Baynes translate it as Approach, and other translators choose renderings closer to Overseeing or Nearing. All hold the same double sense of closeness and responsibility.

Is I Ching Hexagram 19, Approach, a favorable hexagram?

Yes, I Ching Hexagram 19 is one of the most favorable figures in the book. Its Judgement opens with the four-character formula of supreme success shared with Hexagram 1 and Hexagram 2, and five of its six lines carry good fortune or freedom from blame. The exception is line 3, the sweet approach, which still offers a way to clear the fault. The qualification is the eighth month warning, limiting how long these conditions last.

What does the eighth month warning in Hexagram 19 mean?

The eighth month warning in Hexagram 19 means the favorable conditions have a season and that season will end. Approach holds the twelfth lunar month in the tidal cycle, and eight months forward lands on Hexagram 20, Contemplation, where its two strong lines have been pushed to the top and can only observe. Commentators count the months differently, so most readers treat it as a proportional window scaled to the question.

Does Hexagram 19 mean yes or no to a direct question?

Hexagram 19, Approach, reads as yes, with a deadline. The Judgement grants supreme success and asks for perseverance, and two growing yang lines beneath four receptive ones describe a situation that welcomes your move. The eighth month clause qualifies it: the answer is yes now rather than yes whenever you get to it. If line 3 is changing, the yes carries a caution about charm substituting for substance.

Which changing line of Hexagram 19 is the warning line?

Line 3 is the warning line of Hexagram 19, Approach. Its text reads: Sweet approach. Nothing that would further. If one is induced to grieve over it, one becomes free of blame. It is a yielding line in a strong position at the top of the joyous trigram Dui, where pleasantness has outrun usefulness, with no answering line above it. The remedy is recognition: genuinely minding the fault removes the blame.

What is the difference between Hexagram 19 and Hexagram 20?

Hexagram 19, Approach, and Hexagram 20, Contemplation, are the same figure inverted. In Hexagram 19 the two strong lines sit at the bottom, rising into four yielding lines, producing advance and hands-on supervision. In Hexagram 20 they sit at the top, producing overview and example rather than action. Hexagram 19 names Hexagram 20 indirectly through its own eighth month warning.

What does Hexagram 19 mean for a new romance?

Hexagram 19, Approach, means a new romance is moving in the right direction and is still early. One person is approaching and the other is receptive, and the lower trigram Dui brings pleasure and easy conversation. Two strong lines out of six says the foundation is real but small. The eighth month clause suggests the approach phase should turn into something defined rather than continue indefinitely.