Bì · Grace
Upper trigram: ☶ Mountain · lower trigram: ☲ Fire
Adornment, fire at the foot of the mountain. Success in small things: ornament is no substitute for substance.
The archaic ideogram shows lines of decorative motifs, carefully braided hair or precious ornaments enhancing the surface of an object or a face. It symbolises the play of appearances, the art of giving form, the politeness and aesthetics that smooth human relations and soften the angles.
The adjustment between substance and form
This hexagram describes a phase in which outward image, visual communication or diplomacy play a predominant role. It is the situation of art, of design, of appearance or of social convention. The forms created allow tensions to relax, but they carry within them the risk of masking the truth or a lack of real substance.
Use elegance without losing yourself in it
The optimal strategy consists in polishing the manner of presentation and showing amiability to ease daily exchanges. The text recalls, however, that these are "small matters"; embellishment is an adornment, not a foundation. Do not mistake the décor for reality, and see to it that appearance remains the honest reflection of your inner values.
From a structural point of view, the figure places the trigram of Light (Li, clarity, fire) below, beneath the trigram of the Mountain (Gen, stabilisation) above. Fire shines at the base of the Mountain, lighting its slopes and giving it magnificent reflections, yet unable to transform it in depth. Analysis of the nuclear hexagram reveals Deliverance (hexagram 40), indicating that the art of adorning must in the end serve to free oneself from the weight of appearances.
Each line is read only if it is changing in your cast. A changing line transforms the figure: the link under each text shows which hexagram it leads to.
Three-coin or yarrow-stalk cast, changing lines, outlook figure — computed on your device, no account.