离

I Ching trigram · 3 of 8

Lí ☲ Fire 离 · The Clinging: fire, clarity and the brightness that lights the way

Lí is one yin line held between two yang lines, like a flame that is bright on the outside and empty at its heart. It stands for light, clarity, beauty and awareness, and for the way fire must cling to something in order to burn.

Yin trigram
Element: Fire
Season: Midsummer
Doubled: hexagram 30

Element

Fire 火

Direction

South

Family

Middle daughter 中女

Quality

Clinging, bright 丽

Animal

Pheasant 雉

Body

Eye 目

The lines of Lí

Yang Top line · heaven

Yin Middle line · humanity · ruling line

Yang Bottom line · earth

Lí has a broken yin line in the middle, enclosed by two solid yang lines. Firm on the outside and open in the centre, it pictures a flame, an eye or the sun.

In the three sons and three daughters, the single line that differs from the others is the ruling line. In Lí it is the middle line, so Lí is the middle daughter.

What Lí means

Lí is fire and the sun. Its quality in the Discussion of the Trigrams (说卦传) is 丽 (lì), which means both to cling and to be bright. A flame has no form of its own: it shines only while it clings to wood or oil. In the same way, the I Ching says, people shine when they hold on to what is right.

As the middle daughter, Lí is linked with intelligence, insight, culture, art and beauty, and with being seen and recognised. hexagram 30, The Clinging (Fire) says that clinging to what is right brings success, and it compares this to caring for a cow, a gentle and docile animal: brightness is best when it is joined to humility.

In the Later Heaven arrangement Lí stands in the south, the direction of midsummer and noon. The commentary says “all things see one another in Lí” (相见乎离). It is the moment of full light, when everything is clear and visible.

明两作，离；大人以继明照于四方。
Brightness rises twice: the image of fire. The great person, by continuing the light, illuminates the four quarters of the world.
The Image of hexagram 30, The Clinging (Fire)

Lí in your birth hexagram

With Lí in your birth hexagram, you may be bright, expressive and quick to understand. Lí people often have a gift for words, art or teaching, and they like to be seen and appreciated for what they bring.

Strengths

Clear-minded and quick to understand
Warm, expressive and charismatic
Creative, with a sense of beauty
A natural teacher or communicator
Brings clarity to confused situations

Watch out for

Can burn out after bursts of enthusiasm
Depends on recognition from others
Restless, changeable moods
May judge by appearances
Can argue just to be right

Find your own trigrams. The free Birth Destiny calculator works out your birth hexagram and its two trigrams from your date and time of birth.

Lí as the lower and upper trigram

Every hexagram has a lower trigram for the inner situation and an upper trigram for the outer world. Lí reads a little differently in each place.

Below: the inner world

As the lower trigram, Lí shows inner clarity, intelligence and warmth. In hexagram 37, The Family it is the fire of the hearth that holds a family together, while in hexagram 36, Darkening of the Light the light is hidden beneath the earth and must protect itself through dark times.

Above: the outer world

As the upper trigram, Lí shows a bright, visible environment: recognition, publicity or the need to see clearly. In hexagram 35, Progress the sun rises over the earth and progress comes easily, while in hexagram 14, Great Possession fire high in the heavens brings possession in great measure.

The 15 hexagrams that contain Lí

Lí appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams: eight with Fire below and eight with Fire above, with hexagram 30, The Clinging (Fire) counted in both lists. Click any hexagram to read its meaning.

Fire ☲ as the lower trigram
No.	Hexagram	Upper over lower	Theme
13	Fellowship	Heaven over Fire	Fellowship, community, shared vision
22	Grace	Mountain over Fire	Beauty, presentation, culture
30	The Clinging (Fire)	Fire over Fire	Clarity, brilliance, expression
36	Darkening of the Light	Earth over Fire	Hidden light, resilience, discretion
37	The Family	Wind over Fire	Family, roles, home
49	Revolution	Lake over Fire	Change, reform, transformation
55	Abundance	Thunder over Fire	Abundance, peak, fullness
63	After Completion	Water over Fire	Completion, order, vigilance

Fire ☲ as the upper trigram
No.	Hexagram	Upper over lower	Theme
14	Great Possession	Fire over Heaven	Abundance, wealth, influence
21	Biting Through	Fire over Thunder	Decisiveness, justice, clearing obstacles
30	The Clinging (Fire)	Fire over Fire	Clarity, brilliance, expression
35	Progress	Fire over Earth	Progress, recognition, promotion
38	Opposition	Fire over Lake	Contrast, independence, difference
50	The Cauldron	Fire over Wind	Transformation, culture, nourishment
56	The Wanderer	Fire over Mountain	Travel, transience, adaptability
64	Before Completion	Fire over Water	Transition, potential, care

Symbols and correspondences

The Discussion of the Trigrams links Lí with fire, the sun and lightning, the middle daughter, armour and helmets, spears and weapons, a big belly, dryness, the tortoise, crab, snail, mussel and turtle, and trees that are dry at the top.

Lines (bottom to top)	yang, yin, yang
Name	离 Lí, The Clinging
Image in nature	Fire
Quality	Clinging, bright (丽)
Yin or yang	Yin trigram
Five element	Fire (火)
Family member	Middle daughter (中女)
Later Heaven direction	South
Early Heaven direction	East
Season	Midsummer
Animal	Pheasant (雉)
Part of the body	Eye (目)
Early Heaven number	3
Later Heaven (Luo Shu) number	9
Opposite trigram	☵ Kǎn, Water
Doubled hexagram	hexagram 30, The Clinging (Fire)
Feng shui life area	Fame, reputation and recognition
Kua number	9 (East group)

Lí in feng shui

On the Later Heaven bagua Lí governs the south, the area of fame, reputation and recognition, traditionally linked to the middle daughter. Its element is Fire, supported by reds, oranges and warm purples, good lighting, candles and triangular or pointed shapes. In the Eight Mansions system, people with a kua number of 9 belong to Lí and the East group.

Tips for the south

Keep the south bright and well lit
Add healthy plants, because Wood feeds Fire
Avoid water features here, since Water puts out Fire

More about the five elements →

Lí questions, answered

What does Lí mean in the I Ching?

Lí (离) means fire, brightness or the clinging. It has one yin line between two yang lines and stands for light, clarity, beauty, recognition and the middle daughter. Doubled, it forms hexagram 30, The Clinging.

Why is Lí called the clinging?

Fire has no form of its own and only burns while it clings to fuel. The I Ching uses this to say that people and ideas shine brightest when they hold on to something true and lasting.

Which hexagrams contain Lí?

Lí appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams. It is both trigrams in hexagram 30, The Clinging (Fire). It is the lower trigram in hexagrams 13, 22, 36, 37, 49, 55 and 63, and the upper trigram in hexagrams 14, 21, 35, 38, 50, 56 and 64.

What element and direction is Lí?

Lí belongs to the Fire element. In the Later Heaven (King Wen) arrangement used in feng shui it sits in the south, and in the Early Heaven (Fu Xi) arrangement it sits in the east.