I Ching · King Wen 46
Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward
䷭ 升 Shēng · also called Ascending, Rising, Growing Upward · The Receptive above The Gentle
A tree growing up through the earth: steady, effortless ascent, one stage at a time, in the right direction.
ascentgrowthpatienceconsistencyadaptation
The meaning of Hexagram 46
Wind below, earth above: wood growing within the earth, a tree pushing upward through soil without haste and without pause. Pushing Upward is the hexagram of gradual, sustained rise. Unlike Progress, which is the sun's swift climb, this is the tree's slow one: growth that comes from adapting to each obstacle and going round it, from patience and from consistent direction. The tradition's judgement is very favourable: supreme success, see the great person, fear not, departure toward the south brings good fortune. The reading says you are rising, or can, and that the rise is of the accumulating kind: small steps, each one built on the last, toward a clear goal.
The image. Wood grows within the earth; the wise person accumulates small things to achieve something high and great.
- Advice
- Rise step by step, adapt to each obstacle, and keep the direction; the height is reached by accumulation.
- Warning
- Pushing upward in the dark, past the point where the goal is visible, exhausts the growth.
over
Structure: ☴ The Gentle (Wind) below, ☷ The Receptive (Earth) above. Nuclear hexagram 54, The Marrying Maiden. Every line reversed: 25, Innocence.
Hexagram 46 for love and relationships
Growing closer step by step, without forcing anything. The reading is warm and gradual: each small kindness builds on the last. Do not rush the ascent and do not fear it. The direction is right.
Hexagram 46 for career
Steady rise. Not a leap but a climb, each stage earned. Seek out the experienced person, do not be afraid to be ambitious, and keep going in the direction you have chosen. The reading is one of the most encouraging for effort.
Hexagram 46 for money
Accumulation toward something substantial. Small, consistent gains compound. The reading supports the patient strategy and the clear goal, and warns in its last line against pushing upward blindly past the point of sense.
Hexagram 46 for decisions
Choose the option that builds gradually toward a clear, high goal. The reading favours ambition pursued patiently. Decide, then take the first small step, then the next.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
Pushing upward in darkness. It furthers to be unremittingly persistent.
Climbing past the point of sense, without seeing where one is going, driven by momentum rather than judgement. The line permits only one thing: persistence in what is right, meaning self-correction rather than blind advance.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled. Read line 6 →
Persistence brings good fortune. One pushes upward by steps.
The line the hexagram is built around: rise by stages, do not skip. Steady, deliberate progress, each step secured before the next. The person at the top who still climbs this way keeps everything they gain.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 48, The Well. Read line 5 →
The king offers him Mount Qi. Good fortune. No blame.
Recognition at a high level: the person rising is honoured with a place among the established, as an ancestor is honoured at the sacred mountain. The ascent has reached standing.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 32, Duration. Read line 4 →
One pushes upward into an empty city.
The ascent meets no resistance at all: everything gives way. The line is favourable and carries an unspoken caution, which is that ease can make one careless. Move in, and stay alert.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 7, The Army. Read line 3 →
If one is sincere, it furthers to bring even a small offering. No blame.
Rising with little to offer except sincerity, and finding that sincerity is enough. The small honest contribution is accepted where a large hollow one would not be.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 15, Modesty. Read line 2 →
Pushing upward that meets with confidence brings great good fortune.
The beginning of the ascent, welcomed by those above. The tree's first shoot finds the soil open. Trust from the start makes the whole rise easier, and the line is greatly fortunate.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 11, Peace. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 46 mean?
- A tree growing up through the earth: steady, effortless ascent, one stage at a time, in the right direction. Wind below, earth above: wood growing within the earth, a tree pushing upward through soil without haste and without pause. Pushing Upward is the hexagram of gradual, sustained rise. Unlike Progress, which is the sun's swift climb, this is the tree's slow one: growth that comes from adapting to each obstacle and going round it, from patience and from consistent direction. The tradition's judgement is very favourable: supreme success, see the great person, fear not, departure toward the south brings good fortune. The reading says you are rising, or can, and that the rise is of the accumulating kind: small steps, each one built on the last, toward a clear goal.
- What does Hexagram 46 mean for love?
- Growing closer step by step, without forcing anything. The reading is warm and gradual: each small kindness builds on the last. Do not rush the ascent and do not fear it. The direction is right.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 46 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 11, Peace; line 2 gives Hexagram 15, Modesty; line 3 gives Hexagram 7, The Army; line 4 gives Hexagram 32, Duration; line 5 gives Hexagram 48, The Well; line 6 gives Hexagram 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 25, Innocence.