Hexagram 2: Receptive Earth
坤Kūn
Ground that carries everything.
The passages below are historical language. Their references to fortune, danger, and the exemplary person belong to the text’s world. Our modern explanation is an invitation to reflect on your situation.
The Judgment
Classical Chinese
坤。 元亨，利牝馬之貞。君子有攸往，先迷後得主。利西南得朋，東北喪朋。安貞吉。
Our English rendering
Receptive Earth. Great success. The steadfastness of a mare is favorable. A person of integrity has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find a guide. In the southwest, gaining companions is favorable; in the northeast, companions are lost. Settled steadfastness brings good fortune.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：地勢坤，君子以厚德載物。
Our English rendering
The earth's disposition is receptive. A person of integrity therefore develops the depth of character to support all things.
Translation note: The source uses a mare, directional omens, and a guiding authority. 'Guide' renders zhu, which can also mean a master or lord. The southwest and northeast remain the source's directions without an invented modern explanation.
A modern reading
Earth carries the weight of what grows and moves across it. The Image draws attention to a capacity that supports other activity: room, nourishment, and dependable ground. The mare adds an animal with strength and responsiveness. Together these images invite a look at the conditions that allow something to develop. In a shared undertaking, that might mean maintaining the practical arrangements through which another person's contribution can take hold.
The Judgment describes a journey shaped by guidance and companionship. Taking the first position brings confusion, while following reveals a guide; some directions gather companions and others part from them. This is a particular ancient orientation, with good fortune expressed in the oracle's historical voice. As a reflection, it asks how well you understand the company and direction of your effort, and whether your current position allows you to contribute with steadiness.
A question to sit with
What support or guidance would help you contribute steadily to the situation you are entering?
Source and method
The Judgment and Image are classical passages from the Book of Changes. The English rendering and modern explanation are Meow Ching’s editorial work. This page covers these two passages; it does not translate the six individual line texts.
Read the classical text on Wikisource · Our sources and method