Is line 5 of Heaven in its correct place?

It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Hexagram 1, line 5

九五Line 5 of Heaven

Nine in the fifth place · 乾 qián

flying dragonin heaventhe great person

爻辭 The line text

飛龍在天，利見大人。

In the fifth line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the dragon on the wing in the sky. It will be advantageous to meet with the great man.

Its symbolism

飛龍在天，大人造也。

'The dragon is on the wing in the sky:'—the great man rouses himself to his work.

In plain words

The dragon flies in the sky: creative force at full height, in full view. Line five is the ruler of the hexagram — yang in a yang place, central in the upper trigram, correct and central at once, the most honoured position in the whole Yijing. The small Image says simply that this is 'the great person at work' (大人造也). The line repeats the second line's words, 'favourable to see the great person', and the two correspond: the dragon in the field and the dragon in heaven find each other. The Wenyan paints this as the sage whose virtue matches heaven and earth, 'ahead of heaven yet heaven does not oppose him'.

If this line is changing

This is the moment of full capacity and full visibility: act as the leader you are, and seek out the capable people below who can carry the work.

Where the line stands

A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
It belongs to the upper trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: 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 ䷍ 14 大有 Great Holdings

Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.

What it becomes14 · 大有 Great Holdingsdà yǒu

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 fifth place of hexagram 1, Heaven, mean?: The dragon flies in the sky: creative force at full height, in full view. Line five is the ruler of the hexagram — yang in a yang place, central in the upper trigram, correct and central at once, the most honoured position in the whole Yijing. The small Image says simply that this is 'the great person at work' (大人造也). The line repeats the second line's words, 'favourable to see the great person', and the two correspond: the dragon in the field and the dragon in heaven find each other. The Wenyan paints this as the sage whose virtue matches heaven and earth, 'ahead of heaven yet heaven does not oppose him'.
What does hexagram 1 become when line 5 changes?: Heaven becomes hexagram 14, 大有 Great Holdings: Fire above heaven: the sun lighting everything. Great holdings and supreme success — one yielding line at the centre holds the respect of all the strong ones.
Is line 5 of Heaven in its correct place?: It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. 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).