I Ching · King Wen 50
Hexagram 50: The Cauldron
䷱ 鼎 Dǐng · also called The Vessel, Holding, The Ding · The Clinging above The Gentle
The ritual vessel: nourishment refined into something worthy, and the person who becomes worthy by it.
refinementtransformationworthofferingcorrectness
The meaning of Hexagram 50
Wind below, fire above: wood feeding fire, the flame under the great bronze cauldron in which offerings were cooked. The Cauldron is the pair of the Well: where the Well is raw nourishment from nature, the Cauldron is nourishment transformed by culture, cooked, refined and offered. The tradition's judgement is simply supreme good fortune, success. The image is of the wise person consolidating their fate by making their position correct. The reading says the situation is one of refinement and offering: what you have can be transformed into something of real worth, and the worth depends on the vessel being sound, well placed and carried with care.
The image. Fire over wood; the wise person consolidates their fate by making their position correct.
- Advice
- Refine what you have into something worthy, set the vessel on correct ground, and carry it with care.
- Warning
- A cauldron with broken legs spills the meal meant for the prince; the refinement is undone by a single careless move.
over
Structure: ☴ The Gentle (Wind) below, ☲ The Clinging (Fire) above. Nuclear hexagram 43, Breakthrough. Every line reversed: 3, Difficulty at the Beginning.
Hexagram 50 for love and relationships
Something raw between you can be cooked into something lasting: a shared life, a home, a culture of your own. The reading is favourable and asks for care with the vessel. Do not spill it by carelessness or overturn it by haste.
Hexagram 50 for career
Transforming ability into something recognised and worthy. The reading strongly favours the work of refinement and the person who does it well. Correct your position, tend the vessel, and the offering will be received.
Hexagram 50 for money
Turning resources into lasting value rather than consuming them. Invest in what refines: skills, tools, the structure that carries the work. The reading is very favourable to careful cultivation.
Hexagram 50 for decisions
Choose the option that transforms and refines rather than the one that merely consumes. Make sure your position is correct before you commit; the cauldron on uneven ground spills.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
The cauldron has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that does not further.
The vessel completed with jade, hard and gentle at once. The sage who advises the ruler, mild in manner and firm in substance. The line is the hexagram at its highest, and it is entirely fortunate.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 32, Duration. Read line 6 →
The cauldron has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Persistence furthers.
The vessel perfectly equipped to be carried: balanced handles, strong rings. The leader who is both approachable and firm, who can be lifted by capable helpers. The line describes the right combination of modesty and strength.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet. Read line 5 →
The legs of the cauldron are broken. The prince's meal is spilled and his person soiled. Misfortune.
A task too heavy for the person, or a person who trusted the wrong helpers, and the disgrace that follows. The line is unsparing: responsibility accepted beyond one's capacity spills what mattered.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled. Read line 4 →
The handle of the cauldron is altered; one is impeded. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.
Genuine worth that cannot be reached because the means of carrying it have been damaged: talent with no way to be used. The line promises that the block is temporary and the value is recognised in time.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 64, Before Completion. Read line 3 →
There is food in the cauldron. My comrades are envious, but they cannot harm me. Good fortune.
Real substance, and the envy it draws. The line says the envy cannot hurt someone whose worth is genuine and whose conduct is correct. Keep to the work and let the envious be envious.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 56, The Wanderer. Read line 2 →
A cauldron with legs upturned. Furthers removal of stagnating stuff. One takes a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame.
Tipping the vessel to empty out what has gone stale, an act that looks like disorder and serves renewal. Something low serving a high purpose. The line permits unconventional means for a good end.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 14, Great Possession. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
- ䷂3 Difficulty at the Beginning
every line reversed - ䷪43 Breakthrough
the nuclear hexagram, lines 2 to 5 - ䷍14 Great Possession
line 1 changing - ䷷56 The Wanderer
line 2 changing - ䷿64 Before Completion
line 3 changing - ䷑18 Work on What Has Been Spoiled
line 4 changing - ䷫44 Coming to Meet
line 5 changing - ䷟32 Duration
line 6 changing
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 50 mean?
- The ritual vessel: nourishment refined into something worthy, and the person who becomes worthy by it. Wind below, fire above: wood feeding fire, the flame under the great bronze cauldron in which offerings were cooked. The Cauldron is the pair of the Well: where the Well is raw nourishment from nature, the Cauldron is nourishment transformed by culture, cooked, refined and offered. The tradition's judgement is simply supreme good fortune, success. The image is of the wise person consolidating their fate by making their position correct. The reading says the situation is one of refinement and offering: what you have can be transformed into something of real worth, and the worth depends on the vessel being sound, well placed and carried with care.
- What does Hexagram 50 mean for love?
- Something raw between you can be cooked into something lasting: a shared life, a home, a culture of your own. The reading is favourable and asks for care with the vessel. Do not spill it by carelessness or overturn it by haste.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 50 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 14, Great Possession; line 2 gives Hexagram 56, The Wanderer; line 3 gives Hexagram 64, Before Completion; line 4 gives Hexagram 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled; line 5 gives Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet; line 6 gives Hexagram 32, Duration. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning.