Also known as The Creative, Force, Heaven.
Hexagram 1 is six solid lines, the only figure made entirely of yang. It stands for the drive that starts things and keeps them going. When it comes up, the energy is there. The real question is how you spend it.
The figure
Heaven over Heaven. The heaven trigram is three solid lines: the sky, and a strength that never rests. Doubled, it means force with nothing holding it back.
The judgment
A beginning that carries all the way through. Push, and it opens; hold your line, and it lasts.
The classical Judgment is four words: it begins, it goes through, it pays, it holds. They describe a cycle that completes itself. Nothing here warns you off. The one condition is that you keep a straight course.
The image
The sky keeps moving and never tires. Work the same way: your own strength, applied without a break.
The sky turns every day without strain. The advice is to make your effort steady rather than heroic.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The dragon is still under the water. Your strength is real but nobody can see it yet. Don't act. Prepare.
- Line 2. In the open ground, the dragon comes into view. Your work is visible at last. Seek out a mentor, someone with more experience who can open doors.
- Line 3. Working hard all day, still alert at night. The pressure is high and the stakes are real. Keep your attention up and you come through without fault.
- Line 4. Poised to leap over the deep water, or to stay put. You are choosing whether to go for it. Either choice is sound if it is honestly yours.
- Line 5. The dragon flies in the open sky. This is the peak of the figure: full ability and full room to use it. Work with good people while you are here.
- Line 6, at the top. The dragon has flown too high. Push past the top and you will regret it. Know when to stop.
All six lines moving: a flight of dragons with no one at the head. Strength that doesn't need anyone to be in charge. It goes well. The figure then turns into hexagram 2.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 1 is a yes to effort and a warning about pride. The moving line tells you where you stand in the arc. Lines 1 and 2 are early: wait, then step forward. Lines 3 and 4 are the test. Line 5 is the peak, and line 6 is going too far.