I Ching Oracle / Hexagrams / 22
The Judgement
Success. In small matters it is favorable to undertake something.
Ornament has its place, but substance must lead.
The Image
Fire at the foot of the mountain; the noble one proceeds with clearing up current affairs, but dares not decide controversial issues.
This hexagram on ten matters
- WorkCAREER
- Ornament has its limits. Simple grace, no blame — plainness is the finest decoration; substance over form is the explicit conclusion.
- LoveRELATIONSHIP
- There are attractive externals, but do not rely on them. Graceful and moist, constant perseverance — over time it is substance that decides.
- MoneyFINANCE
- In small matters it furthers one to act. Suited to small, quality-focused commitments, not large ones.
- HealthBODY
- Appearance is not health. Looking fine and being fine are different; do the check anyway.
- StudyLEARNING
- The form is good but the substance must catch up. Beautiful notes are not the same as having learned it.
- An examEXAM
- Presentation affects marks. Legible writing, complete working, key points marked — this hexagram is about adornment, and on essay or worked questions good layout genuinely earns marks.
- PeopleSOCIAL
- Presentation helps, but only helps. Dares not decide controversial issues — do not judge people on surface impression.
- A choiceDECISION
- Small matters can be decided; large ones should not. This hexagram favours the small.
- TravelJOURNEY
- Travel light and short. He leaves the carriage and walks — the simpler way suits.
- A lost itemLOST ITEM
- Hidden by decoration, packaging, or something that looks similar. Check the places that do not look like where it would be.
The Six Lines
He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage, and walks.
He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage and walks. Ornament on the feet, yet he prefers to walk. Choosing plainness: display gets in the way when substance is thin.
Lends grace to the beard on his chin.
Lends grace to the beard on his chin. The beard moves only with the chin. Your lustre is borrowed from someone else — do not mistake it for your own.
Graceful and moist. Constant perseverance brings good fortune.
Graceful and moist; constant perseverance brings good fortune. The warning is indulgence: beauty lasts only through constancy, not a moment.
Grace or simplicity? A white horse comes as if on wings. He is not a robber, he will woo at the right time.
Grace or simplicity? A white horse comes as if on wings. Wavering between plain and adorned. He is not a robber — the suspicion is unfounded.
Grace in hills and gardens. The roll of silk is meager and small. Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.
Grace in hills and gardens; the roll of silk is meagre. A thin gift, sincerely meant. Slighted at first, recognised in the end.
Simple grace. No blame.
Simple grace; no blame. Back to plain white. The hexagram's conclusion: the highest ornament is none.
The governing line
Nuclear · Opposite · Reverse
The nuclear hexagram shows the middle stretch of the matter; the opposite is the same situation seen from the reverse position; the reverse is the view from the other party's side.