Hexagram 2 · ䷁
Supreme success. The mare's perseverance is beneficial. The noble person should not force the lead, but find the right guide and remain steadily receptive.
Judgment
Supreme success. The mare's perseverance is beneficial. The noble person should not force the lead, but find the right guide and remain steadily receptive.
Image
The earth's condition is one of devoted receptivity. The noble person, contemplating this image, extends their virtues abundantly to support all beneath heaven.
Lines
Stepping on frost warns that solid ice is coming. Be mindful of early signs and prepare. Be upright, square, and great. Without deliberate practice, nothing is unfavorable. Hold yo...
Supreme success. Perseverance of the mare furthers. If the noble person has somewhere to go, going first leads astray, following later finds a master. It is favorable to gain friends in the southwest and lose friends in the northeast. Peaceful perseverance brings good fortune.
Supreme success. The mare's perseverance is beneficial. The noble person should not force the lead, but find the right guide and remain steadily receptive.
Perfect indeed is the receptive power of Kun. All things receive life from it, and it obediently follows heaven. Kun, with its rich earth, carries all things; its virtue joins with the boundless. Broad, generous, and luminous, it brings all beings to fulfillment. The mare belongs to the kind of earth: it roams the earth without limit, gentle and compliant, yet steadfast. If the noble person sets out and goes first, they lose the way; following behind, they find constancy. Gaining friends in the southwest means walking with one's own kind; losing friends in the northeast means there will be good fortune in the end. The good fortune of peaceful perseverance answers the earth's boundlessness.
Kun is the receptive power of earth. It carries, nourishes, and completes what heaven begins. Its strength lies in yielding, following what is right, and supporting all things with breadth and endurance.
The earth's condition is receptive devotion. The noble person supports the earth with vast quantities of virtue.
The earth's condition is one of devoted receptivity. The noble person, contemplating this image, extends their virtues abundantly to support all beneath heaven.
Kun is utmost yielding, yet in movement it is firm; utmost s……
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When treading on frost, solid ice arrives.
Stepping on frost warns that solid ice is coming. Be mindful of early signs and prepare.
Small Image
"Treading on frost, solid ice arrives." The yin energy begins to condense.
The frost on the ground tells that hard ice is near. Yin energy slowly accumulates toward its peak.
Straight, square, and great: without cultivation, nothing is unfavorable.
Be upright, square, and great. Without deliberate practice, nothing is unfavorable.
Small Image
Six-second's movement is "straight" because of "square." Without cultivation, nothing unfavorable.
Six-two's movement is inherently 'straight' and 'square.' Natural virtue without artificiality brings no unfavorable results.
Containing brilliance and maintaining constancy: it furthers.
Hold your brilliance within, staying true to your principles. In service to a ruler or great cause, you may not achieve personal fame, but you will accomplish your mission.
Small Image
"Containing brilliance and maintaining constancy." It is released in its season.
Containing brilliance means to wait for the proper time. Serving a ruler without claiming credit leads to a proper end.
A tied-up sack; no praise, no blame.
Guard your words and actions carefully, like a tightly tied sack. Neither praise nor criticism will follow, yet you remain safe.
Small Image
"A tied-up sack." Cautious avoidance of harm.
Tying the sack tightly demonstrates cautious virtue that avoids bringing harm to oneself.
Yellow lower garment; great fortune.
Wear the yellow garment as a symbol of humble service. This brings the greatest good fortune.
Small Image
"Yellow lower garment, great fortune." Literary refinement dwells within.
Yellow is the color of the earth's center, symbolizing inner worth expressing outward. Great fortune comes from humble virtue within.
The dragon fights in the wild; their blood is black and yellow.
When dragons fight in the wilderness, black and yellow blood is shed. This shows receptive force pushed to an extreme and ending in conflict.
Small Image
"The dragon fights in the wild." Their way has reached its limit.
The dragon fighting in the wild shows yin energy at its extreme. This is the natural conclusion when the way has reached its limit.
What does K'un / The Receptive mean in the I Ching?
Supreme success. The mare's perseverance is beneficial. The noble person should not force the lead, but find the right guide and remain steadily receptive.
How should I study Hexagram 2 on this page?
Start with the judgment and image, then read the line statements in sequence. Stepping on frost warns that solid ice is coming. Be mindful of early signs and prepare. Be upright, square, and great. Without deliberate practice, nothing is unfavorable. Hold yo...
How can this hexagram be applied in a modern reading?
Kun is the receptive power of earth. It carries, nourishes, and completes what heaven begins. Its strength lies in yielding, following what is right, and supporting all things with breadth and endurance.
Primary text: Zhouyi / I Ching, including the Judgment, Image, line texts, and related commentaries.
Translation basis: public-domain and modern study references, with AI used only as a learning aid.