Hexagram 2 — Field
King Wen #2 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is.
What Hexagram 2 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 2 places earth (坤) beneath earth (坤) — receptive ground holding all things below, receptive ground holding all things above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Field”: pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
地勢坤，君子以厚德載物。
The (capacity and sustaining) power of the earth is what is denoted by Khwăn. The superior man, in accordance with this, with his large virtue supports (men and) things.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The earth lies open and receptive. The wise, in the same way, carry all things on generous character.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 2 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Field describes pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: receptive ground holding all things, 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 Field about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is. 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 2
What does 坤 (kūn) mean?
Hexagram 2 of the I Ching is named 坤 (kūn), usually rendered "Field" in English editions. Its figure is the doubled trigram earth (坤) — receptive ground holding all things above and below.
Is hexagram 2 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 2 is warm: it contains 2 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune), and 1 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached.
What does hexagram 2 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Field points to pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is. The figure pairs earth (坤) beneath earth (坤) — receptive ground holding all things 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 2 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Field through the figure itself: earth (坤) below, earth (坤) above — receptive ground holding all things held inside receptive ground holding all things. The plain reading: Pure receptive force. Success comes through yielding, patience and steady support of what already is. The text carries 2 mentions of 吉 (good fortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 2 mean?
A cast of hexagram 2 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 2 gives hexagram 1, 乾 (Force). 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 2 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 2 gives hexagram 1 — 乾 (Force). Turned upside down, the figure is itself — one of the eight hexagrams that stay unchanged when inverted. Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is itself.
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，利牝馬之貞。君子有攸往，先迷，後得主，利。西南得朋，東北喪朋。安貞吉。
Kun (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in correctness and firmness, there will be good fortune.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
履霜，堅冰至。
In the first SIX, divided, (we see its subject) treading on hoarfrost. The strong ice will come (by and by).
直方大，不習無不利。
The second SIX, divided, (shows the attribute of) being straight, square, and great. (Its operation), without repeated efforts, will be in every respect advantageous.
含章可貞；或從王事，無成有終。
The third SIX, divided, (shows its subject) keeping his excellence under restraint, but firmly maintaining it. If he should have occasion to engage in the king's service, though he will not claim the success (for himself), he will bring affairs to a good issue.
括囊，無咎無譽。
The fourth SIX, divided, (shows the symbol of) a sack tied up. There will be no ground for blame or for praise.
黃裳，元吉。
The fifth SIX, divided, (shows) the yellow lower garment. There will be great good fortune.
龍戰于野，其血玄黃。
The sixth SIX, divided (shows) dragons fighting in the wild. Their blood is purple and yellow.
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.