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Hexagram 14 — Heng, Duration
Chronological no. 14 (binary-weight order) · King Wen no. (traditional) 32 · 恆
By Anibal Edelberto Amiot — Updated October 1, 2026
the eldest son
the eldest daughter
Thunder and Wind: the image of duration. Two movements different by nature join here without contradicting one another, each reinforcing the other in shared constancy. This is the figure of perseverance that does not wear out. Thus the noble one stands firm without changing direction: to last is not to resist all change, it is to find the movement that can repeat itself indefinitely without betraying itself.
Constancy through time endures the trial of withdrawal. What truly lasts is not what refuses all change, but what knows, when needed, how to withdraw for a time without losing its own direction. This line teaches that true duration includes its own pauses.
The six lines
At the base of the earth, emptiness closes over: what was still an opening begins to fill.
The steadied earth reaches its limit: the solidity that upheld the structure is about to change its nature.
At the threshold between earth and man, force wavers: what acted through firmness hesitates before turning.
In the action of man, fullness meets its limit: the initiative that led the figure folds back upon itself.
At the sage's seat, emptiness fills: the suppleness that governed with discretion gathers a new force.
At the summit, emptiness reaches its fullest extent and closes: the furthest opening turns toward its opposite.
Source: La Livrée d'Hermès, Anibal Amiot — chapter 7.1 (pp. 63–68). French version of this page.
For the notions used here — magic square, layer and casting, the Yi Jing — see the project lexicon.
The patterns of this hexagram
Eight 12×12 Jacquard patterns are generated from this hexagram, one for each admissible family of the system. Each has its own page: cell, tiling, recolourings and data.
Bases — YANG mutant
Bases — YANG
Pair of two — YANG + YIN mutant
Pair of two — YIN mutant + YANG mutant
Pair of two — YIN + YANG
Pair of two — YIN + YANG mutant
Triple — without YANG
Triple — without YANG mutant
Neighbouring hexagrams
13 — Feng, Abundance · 15 — Da Zhuang, The Power of the Great
Hexagrams sharing a trigram
Same upper trigram (☳ Zhen): 8 — Yu, Enthusiasm · 9 — Zhen, The Arousing · 10 — Jie, Deliverance · 11 — Gui Mei, The Marrying Maiden · 12 — Xiao Guo, Preponderance of the Small · 13 — Feng, Abundance · 15 — Da Zhuang, The Power of the Great
Same lower trigram (☴ Xun): 6 — Sheng, Pushing Upward · 22 — Jing, The Well · 30 — Da Guo, Preponderance of the Great · 38 — Gu, Work on What Has Been Spoiled · 46 — Ding, The Cauldron · 54 — Xun, The Gentle, Wind · 62 — Gou, Coming to Meet
