I Ching hexagram · 22 of 64
Hexagram 22: Grace 贲 Bì · Beauty, presentation, culture
Beauty and form adorn life, but substance matters more. Grace has success. In small matters it helps to undertake something.
- Upper: ☶ Mountain
- Lower: ☲ Fire
- Nuclear: 40
- Opposite: 47
Number
22 of 64
Chinese name
贲 Bì
Upper trigram
☶ Mountain
Lower trigram
☲ Fire
Nuclear hexagram
䷧ 40. Deliverance
Opposite hexagram
䷮ 47. Oppression
What hexagram 22 means
Hexagram 22 shows fire lighting up the foot of a mountain and making it beautiful. It is about grace, beauty, culture and presentation: the way form and appearance shape how we see things.
Beauty and style matter, but they are not the essence. Grace is good for small matters and for making life pleasant; important decisions need more than a fine surface.
The Judgement · 卦辞
贲：亨。小利有攸往。
Grace has success. In small matters it helps to undertake something.
The Image · 象曰
山下有火，贲；君子以明庶政，无敢折狱。
Fire at the foot of the mountain: the image of grace. The noble person brings clarity to everyday affairs, but does not dare to settle great disputes this way.
The lines and trigrams
Grace places ☶ Mountain (艮 Gèn), the trigram of stillness and restraint, above ☲ Fire (离 Lí), the trigram of clarity and brightness. The lower trigram describes the inner situation and the upper trigram the outer world.
A hexagram is read from the bottom line up. Lines 1 to 3 form the lower trigram and lines 4 to 6 the upper trigram. Solid lines are yang and broken lines are yin; in the traditional names a yang line is called Nine (九) and a yin line Six (六).
Hexagram 22 in your life
Love and relationships
Romance, charm and attraction are highlighted. Enjoy the beauty of the relationship, but make sure there is substance beneath it.
Personal growth
Cultivate beauty and good taste in your life, while remembering that simplicity is the highest grace.
The six changing lines
If you cast hexagram 22 and some lines come out as changing lines, read the text for those lines, then turn each one into its opposite to find the hexagram your situation is moving towards. See how to consult the I Ching.
Line 1 初九 · Nine at the beginning
Grace in the toes. Leaving the carriage and walking: choose honest simplicity over borrowed show.
Line 2 六二 · Six in the second place
Grace in the beard. Ornament only follows the substance it belongs to.
Line 3 九三 · Nine in the third place
Graceful and moist. Enjoy the charm, but lasting perseverance is what brings good fortune.
Line 4 六四 · Six in the fourth place
Grace or simplicity? A white horse comes as if on wings: a sincere suitor, not a robber.
Line 5 六五 · Six in the fifth place
Grace in the hills and gardens. A small, modest gift seems poor, but in the end there is good fortune.
Line 6 上九 · Nine at the top
Simple grace. No blame: pure, unadorned simplicity is the finest.
Hexagram 22 questions, answered
What does I Ching hexagram 22 mean?
Hexagram 22, Grace (贲 Bì), is about beauty, presentation, culture. Beauty and form adorn life, but substance matters more. Hexagram 22 shows fire lighting up the foot of a mountain and making it beautiful. It is about grace, beauty, culture and presentation: the way form and appearance shape how we see things.
What does hexagram 22 mean in love?
Romance, charm and attraction are highlighted. Enjoy the beauty of the relationship, but make sure there is substance beneath it.
What does hexagram 22 mean for work and money?
Design, branding, presentation and the arts are favoured. Polish your work, but don't let appearance replace quality.
Which trigrams make up hexagram 22?
Hexagram 22 has Mountain (Gèn) as its upper trigram and Fire (Lí) as its lower trigram.
What are the related hexagrams of hexagram 22?
Its nuclear hexagram is 40, Deliverance. Its opposite, with every line changed, is 47, Oppression. Turned upside down it becomes 21, Biting Through.
All 64 hexagrams
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