The 64 hexagrams / Hexagram 50
The Cauldron
Hexagram 50 · 鼎 Dǐng
Fire above · Wind below
离 palace · 二世
What hexagram 50 says
Wood feeding fire beneath a cauldron. Transformation: raw material into nourishment. Take the right position, fix the mandate — and mind the legs of the vessel.
Above: Fire (Li) — clinging, bright, illuminating.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. The first line is the beginning of the situation, the sixth is its outer edge. The Chinese text is the classical line text; the line below it is a reading of what it is pointing at.
yin — broken
yang — solid
yang — solid
yang — solid
yin — broken
yang — solid
How to use this hexagram
If you cast this as your primary hexagram, it describes the situation you are in. If it came up as the transformed hexagram, it describes where things are heading once the changing lines have flipped. If you are only looking it up, read the judgment first — the line texts are for specific moments inside the situation, not for the situation as a whole.
Frequently asked
What does I Ching hexagram 50 mean?
Hexagram 50, The Cauldron, is made of Fire above and Wind below. Wood feeding fire beneath a cauldron. Transformation: raw material into nourishment. Take the right position, fix the mandate — and mind the legs of the vessel.
How do I read hexagram 50 in a casting?
Read the primary hexagram first — it describes the situation as it stands. If any of your six lines were changing lines (sixes or nines from the coin tosses), read those lines' texts next: they mark where the situation is moving. The hexagram produced after those lines flip is the transformed hexagram, and it shows where the movement leads.
What are the six lines of hexagram 50?
Hexagram 50 has six lines, read from the bottom up. The texts below are given in order, first line (bottom) to sixth line (top).
Which palace does hexagram 50 belong to?
In the six-line (liuyao) system, hexagram 50 sits in the 离 palace, second generation — the movement is established but not yet settled. The palace gives the hexagram its ruling element, and from that element the Six Relatives are assigned to each line.