Is line 2 of Heaven in its correct place?

It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Hexagram 1, line 2

九二Line 2 of Heaven

Nine in the second place · 乾 qián

dragon in the fieldappearingthe great person

爻辭 The line text

見龍在田，利見大人。

In the second line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the dragon appearing in the field. It will be advantageous to meet with the great man.

Its symbolism

見龍在田，德施普也。

'The dragon appears in the field:'—the diffusion of virtuous influence has been wide.

In plain words

The dragon has surfaced and stands in the open field: visible, grounded, not yet in the sky. Line two is yang in a yin place, so it is not 'correct' in the strict sense, but it is central in the lower trigram, and the tradition weighs centrality above correctness here. Its virtue is already spreading, says the small Image — 'the power of his character reaches everywhere' (德施普也). 'It is favourable to see the great person': the line corresponds to the ruler at five, the other 'dragon' that says the same words, and commentators read it as the moment a capable person first meets the one who can use them, or first becomes someone others seek out.

If this line is changing

Step into view and let your work be seen by the person who matters; you are not in charge yet, and that is exactly why this is the time to be found.

Where the line stands

A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
It belongs to the lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.

之卦 When this line moves

乾 Heaven becomes ䷌ 13 同人 People United

Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.

What it becomes13 · 同人 People Unitedtóng rén

The six lines of 乾 Heaven

Read 乾 Heaven for a question about

Love and relationships Work and career A yes-or-no decision

Questions about this line

What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 1, Heaven, mean?: The dragon has surfaced and stands in the open field: visible, grounded, not yet in the sky. Line two is yang in a yin place, so it is not 'correct' in the strict sense, but it is central in the lower trigram, and the tradition weighs centrality above correctness here. Its virtue is already spreading, says the small Image — 'the power of his character reaches everywhere' (德施普也). 'It is favourable to see the great person': the line corresponds to the ruler at five, the other 'dragon' that says the same words, and commentators read it as the moment a capable person first meets the one who can use them, or first becomes someone others seek out.
What does hexagram 1 become when line 2 changes?: Heaven becomes hexagram 13, 同人 People United: Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
Is line 2 of Heaven in its correct place?: It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Cast a reading Hexagram 1 in full Changing lines explained

Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).