明夷
“Darkening of the Light” — King Wen #36
The light is wounded. Hide your brilliance, endure, and guard the inner flame.
The Judgment 卦辞
利艱貞。
Ming Yi indicates that (in the circumstances which it denotes) it will be advantageous to realise the difficulty (of the position), and maintain firm correctness.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
明夷于飛，垂其翼；君子于行，三日不食。有攸往，主人有言。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is revolving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him).
明夷，夷于左股，用拯馬壯，吉。
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, wounded in the left thigh. He saves himself by the strength of a (swift) horse; and is fortunate.
明夷于南狩，得其大首。不可疾貞。
The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, hunting in the south, and taking the great chief (of the darkness). He should not be eager to make (all) correct (at once).
入于左腹，獲明夷之心，于出門庭。
The fourth six, divided, shows its subject (just) entered into the left side of the belly (of the dark land). (But) he is able to carry out the mind appropriate (in the condition indicated by) Ming Yi, quitting the gate and courtyard (of the lord of darkness).
箕子之明夷，利貞。
The fifth six, divided, shows how the count of K? fulfilled the condition indicated by Ming Yi. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
不明晦，初登于天，後入于地。
The sixth six, divided, shows the case where there is no light, but (only) obscurity. (Its subject) had at first ascended to (the top of) the sky; his future shall be to go into the earth.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 36 places fire (离) beneath earth (坤) —light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates below, receptive ground holding all things above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Darkening of the Light”:the light is wounded. Hide your brilliance, endure, and guard the inner flame Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 36
What does 明夷 (míng yí) mean?
Hexagram 36 of the I Ching is named 明夷 (míng yí), usually rendered "Darkening of the Light" in English editions. Its figure pairs fire (离) below with earth (坤) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 36?
坤 (Earth) sits above and 离 (Fire) sits below — the classical picture is light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates beneath receptive ground holding all things.
How is hexagram 36 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 36 gives hexagram 6 — 訟 (lawsuit). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 35 — 晉 (Prospering). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 40 — 解 (Taking-Apart).
Ask your own question
Reading about hexagram 36 is looking it up. Casting it — shaking the tube, watching your own coins fall — is how an answer becomes yours.
Cast this question yourselfNew to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.