Hexagram 32 — Persevering
King Wen #32 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy.
What Hexagram 32 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 32 places wind (巽) beneath thunder (震) — gentle influence working inward below, movement breaking out of stillness above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Persevering”: duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
雷風，恒；君子以立不易方。
(The trigram representing) thunder and that for wind form Hăng. The superior man, in accordance with this, stands firm, and does not change his method (of operation).— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Thunder and wind: duration. The wise take their stand and do not change their direction.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 32 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Persevering describes duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: gentle influence working inward, held inside a larger setting of movement breaking out of stillness. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Persevering about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy. 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 32
What does 恆 (héng) mean?
Hexagram 32 of the I Ching is named 恆 (héng), usually rendered "Persevering" in English editions. Its figure is built from wind (巽) below and thunder (震) above — gentle influence working inward beneath movement breaking out of stillness.
Is hexagram 32 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 32 is warm: it contains one occurrence of 吉 (good fortune), 3 of 凶 (misfortune), and 1 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached (the text notes possible regret 悔 where the moment is mishandled).
What does hexagram 32 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Persevering points to duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy. The figure pairs wind (巽) beneath thunder (震) — gentle influence working inward meeting movement breaking out of stillness — 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 32 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Persevering through the figure itself: wind (巽) below, thunder (震) above — gentle influence working inward held inside movement breaking out of stillness. The plain reading: Duration. Lasting bonds succeed through steady, unforced constancy. The text carries 1 mention of 吉 (good fortune) and 3 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 32 mean?
A cast of hexagram 32 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 32 gives hexagram 42, 益 (Augmenting). 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 32 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 32 gives hexagram 42 — 益 (Augmenting). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 31 — 咸 (Conjoining). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 43 — 夬 (Displacement).
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
亨，無咎，利貞，利有攸往。
Heng indicates successful progress and no error (in what it denotes). But the advantage will come from being firm and correct; and movement in any direction whatever will be advantageous.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
浚恆，貞凶，無攸利。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject deeply (desirous) of long continuance. Even with firm correctness there will be evil; there will be no advantage in any way.
悔亡。
The second NINE, undivided, shows all occasion for repentance disappearing.
不恆其德，或承之羞；貞吝。
The third NINE, undivided, shows one who does not continuously maintain his virtue. There are those who will impute this to him as a disgrace. However firm he may be, there will be ground for regret.
田無禽。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows a field where there is no game.
恆其德，貞；婦人吉，夫子凶。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject continuously maintaining the virtue indicated by it. In a wife this will be fortunate; in a husband, evil.
振恆，凶。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject exciting himself to long continuance. There will be evil.
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.