# Hexagram 2: The Receptive

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/2
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
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━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Kun 坤](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/kun), Earth, the receptive, yielding
- **Lower trigram:** [Kun 坤](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/kun), Earth, the receptive, yielding
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 000000 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

The receptive principle is at its strongest. Great success comes through yielding, devotion, and quiet persistence. This is not a time to lead but to support: to carry, nourish, and hold what is given into your care. Strength here looks like softness.

## Image

Earth above Earth. The earth receives everything and complains of nothing. The superior person carries the outer world with the breadth of their character.

## Counsel

Do not assert. Follow, listen, and serve the unfolding rather than trying to direct it. Aligned with the right cause and the right companions, you will accomplish far more than by pushing alone. Steadiness is your practice now.

## The six lines

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

### Line 1

> A six at the beginning means:
> When one treads on hoarfrost, the solid ice is near.

### Line 2

> A six in the second place means:
> Straight, right-angled, great.
> Without intention, yet nothing is left unfurthered.

### Line 3

> A six in the third place means:
> Hidden lines; one is able to remain persevering.
> If you should enter the service of a king,
> seek no works, but bring them to completion.

### Line 4

> A six in the fourth place means:
> A tied-up sack. No blame; no praise.

### Line 5

> A six in the fifth place means:
> A yellow undergarment brings sublime good fortune.

### Line 6

> A six at the top means:
> Dragons fight in the meadow.
> Their blood is black and yellow.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [2 The Receptive](https://thefreeiching.com/library/2)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** itself
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [1 The Creative](https://thefreeiching.com/library/1)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24) |
| Line 2 | [7 The Army](https://thefreeiching.com/library/7) |
| Line 3 | [15 Modesty](https://thefreeiching.com/library/15) |
| Line 4 | [16 Enthusiasm](https://thefreeiching.com/library/16) |
| Line 5 | [8 Holding Together](https://thefreeiching.com/library/8) |
| Line 6 | [23 Splitting Apart](https://thefreeiching.com/library/23) |

Previous: [1 The Creative](https://thefreeiching.com/library/1). Next: [3 Difficulty at the Beginning](https://thefreeiching.com/library/3). [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 2: The Receptive." https://thefreeiching.com/library/2 (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/2). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.