# Hexagram 19: Approach

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/19
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
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━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Kun 坤](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/kun), Earth, the receptive, yielding
- **Lower trigram:** [Dui 兌](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/dui), Lake, the joyous, open
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 110000 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Approach. Something good is drawing near. An opening is appearing; new light is entering the situation. Meet it with sincerity and care, not with grasping. What begins well, tended patiently, grows strong. What begins rushed or careless squanders its promise.

## Image

Earth above, the lake below. The superior person teaches and nourishes without limit and holds the people in protection.

## Counsel

Welcome what is arriving. Do not exploit the opening for quick gain; handle it with the gravity and gentleness the moment deserves. Commit to the full season of the new thing, not just its exciting beginning. Good fortune here is the fruit of steady, genuine attention.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A nine at the beginning means:
> Joint Approach. Perseverance brings good fortune.

### Line 2

> A nine in the second place means:
> Joint Approach. Good fortune! Everything is furthering.

### Line 3

> A six in the third place means:
> Comfortable Approach. Nothing that would further.
> If one grieves over it, one becomes without blame.

### Line 4

> A six in the fourth place means:
> Complete Approach. No blame.

### Line 5

> A six in the fifth place means:
> Wise Approach. This is right for
> a great prince. Good fortune!

### Line 6

> A six at the top means:
> Greathearted Approach. Good fortune. No blame.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [20 Contemplation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/20)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [33 Retreat](https://thefreeiching.com/library/33)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [7 The Army](https://thefreeiching.com/library/7) |
| Line 2 | [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24) |
| Line 3 | [11 Peace](https://thefreeiching.com/library/11) |
| Line 4 | [54 The Marrying Maiden](https://thefreeiching.com/library/54) |
| Line 5 | [60 Limitation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/60) |
| Line 6 | [41 Decrease](https://thefreeiching.com/library/41) |

Previous: [18 Work on the Decayed](https://thefreeiching.com/library/18). Next: [20 Contemplation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/20). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 19: Approach." https://thefreeiching.com/library/19 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/19). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.