I Ching · King Wen 55
Hexagram 55: Abundance
䷶ 豐 Fēng · also called Fullness, Prosperity, Feng · The Arousing above The Clinging
The sun at noon: abundance at its height, with the certainty that noon does not last and the instruction not to grieve about it.
fullnesspeakclaritydecisiontransience
The meaning of Hexagram 55
Fire below, thunder above: clarity and movement together, lightning and thunder at full strength. Abundance describes the peak, the moment of greatest fullness. The tradition's judgement is that the king attains abundance, that one should not be sad, and that one should be like the sun at midday. The greatness of the moment is real and so is its brevity. The reading says you are at or near a high point, that it should be used with clarity and decision while it lasts, and that the correct attitude toward its passing is not grief but light. The lines are strange, full of eclipses and curtains: even at noon, darkness can gather, and the hexagram asks you to keep seeing clearly through it.
The image. Thunder and lightning together; the wise person decides lawsuits and carries out punishments.
- Advice
- Use the height of abundance decisively and clearly, and do not grieve that noon will pass.
- Warning
- Even at noon a curtain can gather; abundance that stops seeing clearly is eclipsed at its own height.
over
Structure: ☲ The Clinging (Fire) below, ☳ The Arousing (Thunder) above. Nuclear hexagram 28, Great Excess. Every line reversed: 59, Dispersion.
Hexagram 55 for love and relationships
A high point: fullness of feeling, of shared life. Enjoy it without sadness that it will change. The lines warn about the curtain that can darken even noon: suspicion and misunderstanding at the height of things. Keep seeing each other clearly.
Hexagram 55 for career
Peak influence and success. Use it decisively; the image is of judgements made and carried out while the light is strongest. Do not waste the noon in anxiety about the afternoon, and do not let the abundance isolate you from clear sight.
Hexagram 55 for money
Prosperity at its height. Make the decisions that require it now. Do not grieve in advance for its passing, and do not let fullness breed the complacency that the lines describe as a darkening at noon.
Hexagram 55 for decisions
Decide now, at the height of clarity and resources. The reading favours decisive action in abundance and warns against delay, because noon passes. Act like the sun at midday.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
His house is in abundance. He screens off his family. He peers through the gate and no longer sees anyone. For three years he sees nothing. Misfortune.
Abundance turned into isolation: the wealthy house shut against everyone, the owner alone inside it. The line is the hexagram's warning made complete: fullness that stops sharing ends in a long emptiness.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 30, The Clinging. Read line 6 →
Lines are coming; blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune.
The ruler who, in modesty, draws capable people around them, and whose abundance is therefore real and recognised. The line describes fullness that comes from welcoming the clarity of others.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 49, Revolution. Read line 5 →
The curtain is so thick that the polar stars can be seen at noon. He meets his ruler, who is of like kind. Good fortune.
The darkness begins to lift: the person finds the one who shares their clarity, and together they can act. The line is the turn from eclipse back toward light, through partnership.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 36, Darkening of the Light. Read line 4 →
The underbrush is so dense that the small stars can be seen at noon. One breaks his right arm. No blame.
The eclipse at its deepest: the capable person entirely blocked, as if their right arm were broken. Nothing can be done and the line attaches no blame; the darkness is not their fault and it is not permanent.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 51, The Arousing. Read line 3 →
The curtain is so thick that the polar stars can be seen at noon. Going meets with mistrust and hate. Arousing through truth brings good fortune.
Darkness at midday: the person in charge has been surrounded by intriguers and cannot see. Direct approach meets suspicion. The line's remedy is the inner power of truth, which reaches through the curtain when argument cannot.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 34, Great Power. Read line 2 →
Meeting one's destined ruler, even for ten days, is no mistake. Going meets with recognition.
Clarity meets energy: the partnership that produces abundance, allowed to last as long as the season of fullness. The line encourages joining forces with the one who complements you, for the time it is right.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 62, Small Excess. 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 55 mean?
- The sun at noon: abundance at its height, with the certainty that noon does not last and the instruction not to grieve about it. Fire below, thunder above: clarity and movement together, lightning and thunder at full strength. Abundance describes the peak, the moment of greatest fullness. The tradition's judgement is that the king attains abundance, that one should not be sad, and that one should be like the sun at midday. The greatness of the moment is real and so is its brevity. The reading says you are at or near a high point, that it should be used with clarity and decision while it lasts, and that the correct attitude toward its passing is not grief but light. The lines are strange, full of eclipses and curtains: even at noon, darkness can gather, and the hexagram asks you to keep seeing clearly through it.
- What does Hexagram 55 mean for love?
- A high point: fullness of feeling, of shared life. Enjoy it without sadness that it will change. The lines warn about the curtain that can darken even noon: suspicion and misunderstanding at the height of things. Keep seeing each other clearly.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 55 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 62, Small Excess; line 2 gives Hexagram 34, Great Power; line 3 gives Hexagram 51, The Arousing; line 4 gives Hexagram 36, Darkening of the Light; line 5 gives Hexagram 49, Revolution; line 6 gives Hexagram 30, The Clinging. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 59, Dispersion.