Hexagram 30: Radiance (Fire)
離 Lí · Fire over Fire
This hexagram is about clarity, light, and what you choose to depend on. Fire gives warmth and light, but it needs something to burn on. It asks you to see clearly, act with understanding, and attach yourself to what is good and true. Like a flame, your brightness grows when it rests on something worthy and steady.
| Number (King Wen order) | 30 |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 離 (Lí) |
| Upper trigram | ☲ Fire (Lí): clear, bright, clinging |
| Lower trigram | ☲ Fire (Lí): clear, bright, clinging |
| Unicode symbol | ䷝ |
On this page (9)
Hexagram 30 in plain words
Fire sits above fire. The trigram for fire has a yielding line inside two strong ones, empty at the center like a flame that clings to what it burns. Doubled, it is light rising twice, the sun at full height, brightness spreading outward. Tradition links this hexagram to clinging, to clarity, and to the idea that everything visible depends on something else, as the sun and moon cling to the sky and plants cling to the earth.
In your situation, the question is what you are leaning on and how clearly you see. Clarity is your strength now: look at things honestly, without rushing to judge. Choose your attachments with care, because what you depend on shapes what you become. The hexagram also praises caring for the cow, a gentle and docile animal, as a sign of good fortune: steadiness, receptiveness, and humility keep your fire from becoming wild. Brightness that burns too fast flares up and goes out. Brightness that rests on patience and good values gives light to others for a long time. Be clear, be warm, and keep your flame fed by what is real.
The judgment
Lî indicates that, (in regard to what it denotes), it will be advantageous to be firm and correct, and that thus there will be free course and success. Let (its subject) also nourish (a docility like that of) the cow, and there will be good fortune.
Translation: James Legge, 1882 (public domain).
The image
(The trigram for) brightness, repeated, forms Lî. The great man, in accordance with this, cultivates more and more his brilliant (virtue), and diffuses its brightness over the four quarters (of the land).
From Legge's Appendix II (the Great Symbolism), The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882 (public domain).
In plain words: Brightness rises twice, like the sun lighting one day after another. Keep your own light clear and steady so that it reaches everyone around you.
The six lines
Read only the lines that changed in your reading. Lines are counted from the bottom.
Line 1 (bottom)
The first NINE, undivided, shows one ready to move with confused steps. But he treads at the same time reverently, and there will be no mistake.
Footprints cross in confusion at the start of the day. Things are busy and unclear; take each step seriously and stay focused, and there is no blame.
Line 2
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject in his place in yellow. There will be great good fortune.
A yellow light, the color of the middle. Balanced, calm clarity brings great good fortune.
Line 3
The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject in a position like that of the declining sun. Instead of playing on his instrument of earthenware, and singing to it, he utters the groans of an old man of eighty. There will be evil.
In the light of the setting sun, people either sing and drum or lament growing old. Accept that things pass, and do not swing between careless fun and despair.
Line 4
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows the manner of its subject's coming. How abrupt it is, as with fire, with death, to be rejected (by all)!
It comes suddenly, flares up, and dies away. A burst of brightness that has no foundation is soon gone: do not burn yourself out.
Line 5
The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject as one with tears flowing in torrents, and groaning in sorrow. There will be good fortune.
Tears flow and sighs are heard, yet good fortune comes. A real change of heart, felt deeply, turns things around.
Line 6 (top)
The topmost NINE, undivided, shows the king employing its subject in his punitive expeditions. Achieving admirable (merit), he breaks (only) the chiefs (of the rebels). Where his prisoners were not their associates, he does not punish. There will be no error.
The ruler sends you out to restore order. Deal firmly with the root of the problem, but be lenient with those who simply followed; no blame.
Related hexagrams
| Opposite (every line changed) | 29. The Abyss (Water) |
|---|---|
| Inverse (turned upside down) | 30. Radiance (Fire) (itself) |
| Nuclear (lines 2 to 5) | 28. Great Exceeding |
All three relations have traditional Chinese names (cuo gua for the opposite, zong gua for the inverse, hu gua for the nuclear). Many modern readers use the opposite as the shadow side of a situation, the inverse as the same moment seen from the other side, and the nuclear hexagram as its inner core.
If one line changes
With a single changing line, hexagram 30 turns into:
| Line 1 changes | Hexagram 56, The Wanderer |
|---|---|
| Line 2 changes | Hexagram 14, Great Possession |
| Line 3 changes | Hexagram 21, Biting Through |
| Line 4 changes | Hexagram 22, Grace |
| Line 5 changes | Hexagram 13, Fellowship |
| Line 6 changes | Hexagram 55, Abundance |
Learn more: what the I Ching is, how to read changing lines, the eight trigrams, how to cast with coins or yarrow.
Hexagram 30 in love and relationships
In love, this hexagram calls for warmth, honesty, and seeing each other clearly. A bond burns brightly when both people support it; avoid a passion that flares and fades without depth.
Hexagram 30 for work and decisions
At work, clarity and a well-chosen focus are your strengths now. Attach yourself to sound projects and good people, and keep a steady pace rather than burning out.
Questions
What does hexagram 30 mean?
This hexagram is about clarity, light, and what you choose to depend on. Fire gives warmth and light, but it needs something to burn on. It asks you to see clearly, act with understanding, and attach yourself to what is good and true. Like a flame, your brightness grows when it rests on something worthy and steady.
What does hexagram 30 mean in love?
In love, this hexagram calls for warmth, honesty, and seeing each other clearly. A bond burns brightly when both people support it; avoid a passion that flares and fades without depth.
What does hexagram 30 mean for work?
At work, clarity and a well-chosen focus are your strengths now. Attach yourself to sound projects and good people, and keep a steady pace rather than burning out.
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