Also known as Darkening of the Light, Brightness Hiding, Wounded Light.
The characters 明夷 mean "brightness" and "wounded" or "hidden". Hexagram 36 is the sun sinking under the earth: a dark time, often under a harsh leader or in a hostile place. The advice is to keep your light alive inside while not showing it outside.
The figure
Earth over Fire. The sun has gone below the ground. Light still exists, but it's covered. It is the reverse of hexagram 35, where the sun rose over the earth.
The judgment
It pays to hold on through the hard part.
In adversity, steadiness is the strategy. You can't change the climate yet, but you can refuse to lose yourself in it.
The image
The light gone down under the ground. In front of people, dim yourself and keep seeing clearly.
Look ordinary on the outside. Stay clear-sighted on the inside.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The light dims as it flies, wings drooping. Three days on the road without food. You have a destination, but people talk. Leaving early has a price, and it's worth paying.
- Line 2. The light dims and you're hurt in the left thigh. Help comes with the strength of a horse. It goes well. Wounded but not stopped, you help others get out.
- Line 3. On a hunt to the south, as the light fades, the ringleader is caught. Fix things one at a time.
- Line 4. Getting into the left side of the belly, to the heart of the darkness, then leaving through the gate. Seeing clearly what's wrong, and walking away.
- Line 5. The light dims, as it did for Prince Ji, who hid his wisdom under a tyrant. Holding steady helps. Hide your light to keep it.
- Line 6, at the top. No brightness, only dark. It first climbs to the sky, then falls into the ground. Darkness at its height pulls itself down.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 36 says this is a hard environment. Keep your head down, keep your values intact and don't put your best ideas on display yet. The dark doesn't last.