Hexagram 50
The Cauldron
鼎
Upper
Fire · 離
the clinging, clarity
Lower
Wind · 巽
the gentle, penetrating
Contemporary judgment
The cauldron. A vessel of transformation: what enters it is slowly, patiently transmuted into something more refined. The work required is as much inner as outer. Preparation, right heat, right timing: these are unglamorous virtues, but they are how real alchemy is done.
Image
Fire beneath wood. The superior person keeps their position correct and makes their appointment firm.
Counsel
Do not look for shortcuts here; the slow cooking cannot be skipped. Tend both the container and the fire: the structure of your life and the quality of your attention. What you are becoming through this process is more important than what you are producing from it. Patience.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A six at the beginning means: A caldron with overturned legs. Favorable to the removal of the stagnant. One takes a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame.
Line 2
A nine in the second place means: In the caldron is nourishment. My comrades have envy, but they cannot do me any harm. Good fortune!
Line 3
A nine in the third place means: The handle of the caldron is changed. One is hindered in one's walk. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once the rain falls, the remorse exhausts itself: in the end good fortune comes.
Line 4
A nine in the fourth place means: The caldron breaks its legs. The meal of the prince is spilled, and his form is spotted. Misfortune!
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means: The caldron has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Perseverance furthers.
Line 6
A nine at the top means: The caldron has rings of jade. Great good fortune! Nothing that would not further.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.