Hexagram 19 — Nearing
King Wen #19 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously.
What Hexagram 19 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 19 places lake (兑) beneath earth (坤) — joy lifting what it touches below, receptive ground holding all things above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Nearing”: approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
澤上有地，臨；君子以教思無窮，容保民無疆。
(The trigram for) the waters of a marsh and that for the earth above it form Lin. The superior man, in accordance with this, has his purposes of instruction that are inexhaustible, and nourishes and supports the people without limit.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Earth rises above the marsh: approach. The wise teach and think without limit, guarding people without bounds.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 19 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Nearing describes approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: joy lifting what it touches, held inside a larger setting of receptive ground holding all things. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Nearing about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously. When lines move in your cast, read them against this base — the moving lines show which part of the figure is awake for you, and the changed hexagram shows where it is heading.
Questions About Hexagram 19
What does 臨 (lín) mean?
Hexagram 19 of the I Ching is named 臨 (lín), usually rendered "Nearing" in English editions. Its figure is built from lake (兑) below and earth (坤) above — joy lifting what it touches beneath receptive ground holding all things.
Is hexagram 19 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 19 is warm: it contains 4 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune), 1 of 凶 (misfortune), and 3 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached.
What does hexagram 19 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Nearing points to approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously. The figure pairs lake (兑) beneath earth (坤) — joy lifting what it touches meeting receptive ground holding all things — which is the traditional picture of how this energy behaves between two people. For how to phrase a love question before casting, see our guide to asking the I Ching about love.
What does hexagram 19 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Nearing through the figure itself: lake (兑) below, earth (坤) above — joy lifting what it touches held inside receptive ground holding all things. The plain reading: Approaching with greatness. A favorable time to come forward and guide others generously. The text carries 4 mentions of 吉 (good fortune) and 1 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 19 mean?
A cast of hexagram 19 can produce moving lines. Each of the six lines has its own statement (爻辭) in the classical text below, read from the bottom up, and a moving line is read as the part of the figure that is awake for your question. When a line moves it turns into its opposite, and the whole figure becomes a second hexagram: changing every line of 19 gives hexagram 33, 遯 (Retiring). Every line also has a page of its own on this site — Line 1 through Line 6 under this hexagram — with the classical Chinese and Legge's translation side by side.
How is hexagram 19 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 19 gives hexagram 33 — 遯 (Retiring). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 20 — 觀 (Viewing). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 24 — 復 (Returning).
Cast it yourself
Shake the tube, watch your own coins fall.
- The hexagram's classical meaning — judgment and all six lines
- Moving lines marked — but not read for you
- No account, no email, nothing to pay
Get the reading, not just the text
Same cast, read all the way through:
- Every line read for you — what each moving line means inside your question
- The changed hexagram — where your situation is heading, and how to read the turn
- A closing that answers you directly — act, wait, or say it out loud
New to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
The Classical Text 經文
元亨，利貞；至于八月，有凶。
Lin (indicates that under the conditions supposed in it) there will be great progress and success, while it will be advantageous to be firmly correct. In the eighth month there will be evil.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
咸臨，貞吉。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject advancing in company (with the subject of the second line). Through his firm correctness there will be good fortune.
咸臨，吉，無不利。
The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject advancing in company (with the subject of the first line). There will be good fortune; (advancing) will be in every way advantageous.
甘臨，無攸利；既憂之，無咎。
The third SIX, divided, shows one well pleased (indeed) to advance, (but whose action) will be in no way advantageous. If he become anxious about it (however), there will be no error.
至臨，無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows one advancing in the highest mode. There will be no error.
知臨，大君之宜，吉。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows the advance of wisdom, such as befits the great ruler. There will be good fortune.
敦臨，吉，無咎。
The sixth SIX, divided, shows the advance of honesty and generosity. There will be good fortune, and no error.
Line by Line 逐爻细读
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text.2 The Image (象傳) is an ancient text in the public domain; its plain-English gloss here is original to The Hexagrams, not a quotation from any copyrighted edition. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.