Hexagram 2 for love
Hexagram 2 Earth in love and relationships
Kun is pure yin, six open lines, earth doubled: the hexagram of receiving, carrying and following. Its judgment compares the right attitude to 'the steadfastness of a mare' — an animal that is strong and tireless yet goes where it is led — and warns that whoever leads at first will go astray, while whoever follows will find a master. In a relationship this is the posture of the partner who supports, adapts and holds things together, whose strength is in constancy rather than initiative.
The lines sharpen the picture. The second line, Kun's ruler, is a love that works without strategy, straight and square. The third line keeps its brilliance to itself and lets the other shine. The fifth line holds the leading position in the relationship with such modesty that it never feels like leading. The two warnings sit at the ends: frost at the bottom, a small coldness that should be noticed early; dragons fighting at the top, when the yielding partner finally rebels and both are hurt.
The hexagram in brief
Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
Support, nourish and follow what is worth following; take the long way with friends rather than striking out alone.
The judgment
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。Khwăn (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in correctness and firmness, there will be good fortune.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 坤 Earth has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningtreading on frost · hard ice · small beginnings
- 六二Six in the second placestraight, square, great · without practice · the way of earth
- 六三Six in the third placehidden brilliance · serving without credit · a proper end
- 六四Six in the fourth placetied sack · no blame, no praise · caution
- 六五Six in the fifth placeyellow lower garment · great good fortune · culture at the centre
- 上六Six at the topdragons fight · in the open · yin exhausted
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Is hexagram 2, Earth, a good sign for love?
- Kun is pure yin, six open lines, earth doubled: the hexagram of receiving, carrying and following. Its judgment compares the right attitude to 'the steadfastness of a mare' — an animal that is strong and tireless yet goes where it is led — and warns that whoever leads at first will go astray, while whoever follows will find a master. In a relationship this is the posture of the partner who supports, adapts and holds things together, whose strength is in constancy rather than initiative.
- What does Hexagram 2, 坤 Earth, mean?
- Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).