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Hexagram 45 — Li, That Which Clings, Fire
Chronological no. 45 (binary-weight order) · King Wen no. (traditional) 30 · 離
By Anibal Edelberto Amiot — Updated October 1, 2026
the middle daughter
the middle daughter
Brightness, and brightness again: the image of Fire that clings. Light never shines alone — it needs something to hold onto in order to keep radiating, just as flame needs wood. This is the figure of brilliance dependent on a support. Thus the great man, through his unbroken radiance, illuminates the four horizons: to shine lastingly requires staying attached to what nourishes one's own light.
The clarity of fire clings to what lives, to spread its glow. Nothing shines in a vacuum: all true brightness needs an anchor, a matter to bind itself to in order to unfold. This line teaches that total independence is not an ideal — even the purest light needs something to illuminate.
The six lines
At the base of the earth, fullness stirs: the yang onset that carried the whole figure now yields its place.
The receptive earth reaches its fullness: the silent welcome that carried the lower figure is about to assert itself.
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, fullness completes its course and breaks: what had culminated cannot go further without turning back.
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
This hexagram is the binary complement of hexagram 18 — Kan, The Abysmal (63 − 45 = 18): its patterns have exactly the same shape, only their colours are permuted. Here are the eight patterns of hexagram 18, one for each admissible family.
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
44 — Lu, The Wanderer · 46 — Ding, The Cauldron
Hexagrams sharing a trigram
Same upper trigram (☲ Li): 40 — Jin, Progress · 41 — Shi He, Biting Through · 42 — Wei Ji, Before Completion · 43 — Kui, Opposition · 44 — Lu, The Wanderer · 46 — Ding, The Cauldron · 47 — Da You, Possession in Great Measure
Same lower trigram (☲ Li): 5 — Ming Yi, Darkening of the Light · 13 — Feng, Abundance · 21 — Ji Ji, After Completion · 29 — Ge, Revolution · 37 — Bi, Grace · 53 — Jia Ren, The Family · 61 — Tong Ren, Fellowship with Men
