I Ching Hexagram 55: Abundance

Hexagram 55, Abundance (Fēng, 豐), is the I Ching's picture of fullness at its peak: the sun at midday, thunder and lightning arriving together. If you drew it, the reading is a favorable one, and it's about how to hold a high point.

Quick meaning: Hexagram 55, Abundance (Fēng), means a time of fullness at its peak. It advises making the most of the midday without dreading what follows, being sincere when the light is dimmed, bringing others in, and not walling off what you have.

What hexagram 55 looks like

The old text turns the image into a rule: thunder and lightning arrive together, and the person of character settles disputes with the clarity of one and the firmness of the other. On the usual reading, that's the point of the image, brightness joined to movement.

What hexagram 55 means

Abundance describes a time of fullness: brightness in motion, a high point. The Judgment is favorable: success, and the advice "do not be anxious; be like the sun at midday." The traditional commentary adds the other half: the sun at noon begins to decline, and heaven and earth wax and wane with the time. The hexagram holds both. It's a peak to be enjoyed fully, and a peak that doesn't stay.

The lines look at what a peak is like from the inside. The first meets a counterpart of equal standing, with no fault. The second, third, and fourth are the light dimmed even at midday: the second meets doubt and answers it with sincerity, the third is sidelined with no fault, and the fourth meets a peer, with fortune. The fifth brings in bright talent, with praise. The sixth builds a grand house and walls it in, and no one comes.

What hexagram 55 advises you to do

Be like the sun at midday. The Judgment says not to be anxious, and to shine at the peak. A high point is a time to use, and dread spoils it.

When the light is dimmed even at the peak, be sincere, and find a peer. On the usual reading, the second line meets doubt and answers it with sincerity, the third is sidelined with no fault, and the fourth meets an equal, with fortune. Obstruction at the top isn't a failure.

Bring others in, and don't wall off what you have. The fifth line brings in bright talent, with praise. The sixth is the grand house with its home screened off, and the text calls it misfortune. Fullness is better with the door open.

Hexagram 55 in love, career, and decisions

In love. Abundance often appears when a bond is at a high point: a full, bright stretch, or a time when everything seems to be going right. Its counsel is to enjoy it fully without dreading the turn (the Judgment), to be sincere when doubt arises (the second line), and not to wall it off from the people around you (the sixth). The commentary's waxing and waning is the rhythm of things in general. It isn't a forecast that the fullness will end, or that a relationship will. It doesn't say whether a particular person is your counterpart, and it doesn't say whether to stay or go.

In career. A favorable hexagram for a peak: a launch, a successful stretch, a growing team. It favors making full use of the high point, bringing in talent (the fifth), and finding a peer to work with when your visibility is blocked (the fourth). The sixth is the caution against building walls around success.

For a decision. If you asked "should I go for it while things are good?", Abundance leans yes, fully, without gripping, and with others around you. It's a good sign for a peak, and a caution against isolating yourself in it.

Is hexagram 55 good or bad?

The short version: hexagram 55 is favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is success, and five of the six lines are fortunate or without fault. The warning is the sixth line, the grand house walled in, where the text calls it misfortune. The middle lines also show the light dimmed even at noon.

Past that, the I Ching isn't dealing in "good" and "bad" cards. Abundance is honest that a peak is a moment and not a state, and that the best response is to use it well. So the honest answer is: a bright hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to hold the high point lightly and openly.

Hexagram 55: yes or no?

The I Ching doesn't give a flat yes or no, but Abundance's lean is clear: "yes to making the most of it, openly; no to dread, and no to walling it in." It splits by what you're actually asking:

• Should I make the most of it now? — yes. The Judgment says to be like the sun at midday.
• Should I spend this time dreading the decline? — no. The Judgment says not to be anxious.
• Should I wall it in, or shut others out? — no. The sixth line is the grand house screened off, and the text calls it misfortune.

The more useful question Abundance answers isn't only "yes or no?" but "am I using the high point, and is my door open?"

How to read hexagram 55 in a reading

If you've cast hexagram 55, start with the situation it describes: fullness at a peak. What's full, and what's dimming it? Then look at your changing line — it tells you where in the peak you stand: meeting a counterpart, answering doubt, sidelined, meeting a peer, bringing in talent, or walled in. Finally, the resulting hexagram: the state things tend toward as the peak settles.

In short: the primary hexagram sets the situation, the changing lines set the action, and the resulting hexagram sets the direction. For the finer mechanics of weighing one or more changing lines, see how to read changing lines.

The changing lines of hexagram 55

The I Ching is also called the Book of Changes. When your cast includes a changing line (an old yin or old yang), that line shows you where in hexagram 55's fullness the live tension sits. Read the line you've drawn.

(The wording below is a plain-English paraphrase of the traditional line images, not a strict translation from any single edition. A few archaic phrases, including the screen, the Dipper, the small stars, and the broken-arm images, are rendered by their underlying meaning, and none of them is practical advice.)

• Line 1 — meeting a counterpart. "He meets his counterpart; even at equal strength, no fault; going forward earns esteem." Readings differ on one word: it can also mean "for ten days." What to do: pair with an equal.
• Line 2 — doubt, answered by sincerity. "Abundance behind a screen; at noon the Dipper is seen. Going ahead brings doubt and suspicion; if sincerity shows, fortune." On the usual reading, something blocks the light even at the peak. What to do: be sincere, and don't force it.
• Line 3 — sidelined. "Abundance behind a dense curtain; at noon the small stars are seen; his right arm is broken; no fault." The broken arm is an ancient image of being unable to act. Readings differ on whether it's chosen or imposed, and the text assigns no blame. It isn't advice to harm oneself or anyone. What to do: accept the sidelined stretch without blame.
• Line 4 — meeting a peer. "Abundance behind a screen; at noon the Dipper is seen; he meets his equal: fortune." What to do: look for a peer.
• Line 5 — bringing in the bright. "Bringing in the brilliant: celebration and praise: fortune." On the usual reading, it means inviting bright talent. What to do: bring in the people who shine.
• Line 6 — walled in. "He enlarges his house and screens off his home; peers through the door; it is silent, no one there; for three years he sees no one: misfortune." On the usual reading, it's an image of building walls around what you have until no one comes. It isn't a verdict on anyone who is lonely. What to do: keep the door open.

Related hexagrams

• Hexagram 56, The Wanderer (旅) — the upside-down pair of Abundance, and the hexagram just after it in the traditional sequence. Turn hexagram 55 over and you get The Wanderer. In the traditional sequence, one who reaches fullness may lose their settled place, and wandering follows.
• Hexagram 59, Dispersion (渙) — the opposite hexagram (every line reversed): where 55 is fullness gathered at its peak, 59 is the loosening and scattering.
• Hexagram 28, Great Exceeding (大過) — the nuclear hexagram inside 55. It can be read as the heavy weight at the hidden center of the fullness.
• Hexagram 54, The Marrying Maiden (歸妹) — the hexagram just before it in the traditional sequence: what finds its proper place grows large.
• See all 64 in the complete I Ching hexagram guide.

Common mistakes with hexagram 55

• Reading the commentary's waxing and waning as a forecast that things will fall apart. It describes the rhythm of things in general, and the Judgment itself says not to be anxious. It isn't a prediction about your situation.
• Reading the sixth line as blaming people who are lonely. The line is an image of walling in what you have, and it isn't a verdict on anyone who is isolated, for any reason.
• Reading the third line's broken arm as advice to restrain or harm yourself. It's an ancient image of being sidelined, the text assigns no blame, and it isn't advice to hurt anyone.

FAQ

What does I Ching hexagram 55 mean?Hexagram 55, Abundance (Fēng), means a time of fullness at its peak. It advises making the most of the midday without dreading what follows, being sincere when the light is dimmed, bringing others in, and not walling off what you have.

Is hexagram 55 good or bad?Favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is success, and five of the six lines are fortunate or without fault. The warning is the sixth line, the grand house walled in, where the text calls it misfortune. It's a bright hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to hold the high point lightly and openly.

What does hexagram 55 mean in love?Usually appears when a bond is at a high point. It counsels enjoying it fully without dreading the turn, being sincere when doubt arises, and not walling it off from the people around you. It isn't a forecast that the fullness or a relationship will end. It doesn't say whether to stay or go.

What if I have a changing line in hexagram 55?The changing line tells you where in the peak you are. Line 1 is meeting a counterpart; line 2 is doubt answered by sincerity; line 3 is sidelined; line 4 is meeting a peer; line 5 is bringing in the bright; line 6 is walled in.