Hexagram 49 — Skinning
King Wen #49 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in.
What Hexagram 49 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 49 places fire (离) beneath lake (兑) — light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates below, joy lifting what it touches above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Skinning”: revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
澤中有火，革；君子以治歷明時。
(The trigram representing the waters of) a marsh and that for fire in the midst of them form Ko. The superior man, in accordance with this, regulates his (astronomical) calculations, and makes clear the seasons and times.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Fire within the marsh: revolution. The wise set the calendar in order and make the seasons clear.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 49 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Skinning describes revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates, held inside a larger setting of joy lifting what it touches. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Skinning about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in. 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 49
What does 革 (gé) mean?
Hexagram 49 of the I Ching is named 革 (gé), usually rendered "Skinning" in English editions. Its figure is built from fire (离) below and lake (兑) above — light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates beneath joy lifting what it touches.
Is hexagram 49 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 49 is warm: it contains 3 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune), 2 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 49 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Skinning points to revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in. The figure pairs fire (离) beneath lake (兑) — light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates meeting joy lifting what it touches — 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 49 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Skinning through the figure itself: fire (离) below, lake (兑) above — light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates held inside joy lifting what it touches. The plain reading: Revolution. The old is molting away; change is right when the day for it is believed in. The text carries 3 mentions of 吉 (good fortune) and 2 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 49 mean?
A cast of hexagram 49 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 49 gives hexagram 4, 蒙 (Enveloping). 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 49 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 49 gives hexagram 4 — 蒙 (Enveloping). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 50 — 鼎 (Holding). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 44 — 姤 (Coupling).
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
巳日乃孚，元亨利貞，悔亡。
(What takes place as indicated by) Ge is believed in only after it has been accomplished. There will be great progress and success. Advantage will come from being firm and correct. (In that case) occasion for repentance will disappear.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
鞏用黃牛之革。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject (as if he were) bound with the skin of a yellow ox.
巳日乃革之，征吉，無咎。
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject making his changes after some time has passed. Action taken will be fortunate. There will be no error.
征凶，貞厲；革言三就，有孚。
The third NINE, undivided, shows that action taken by its subject will be evil. Though he be firm and correct, his position is perilous. If the change (he contemplates) have been three times fully discussed, he will be believed in.
悔亡，有孚改命，吉。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows occasion for repentance disappearing (from its subject). Let him be believed in; and though he change (existing) ordinances, there will be good fortune.
大人虎變，未佔有孚。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the great man (producing his changes) as the tiger (does when he) changes (his stripes). Before he divines (and proceeds to action), faith has been reposed in him.
君子豹變，小人革面；征凶，居貞吉。
The sixth SIX, divided, shows the superior man producing his changes as the leopard (does when he) changes (his spots), while small men change their faces (and show their obedience). To go forward (now) would lead to evil, but there will be good fortune in abiding firm and correct.
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.