Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light地火明夷 · Míng Yí

• Upper trigram　Kūn, Earth: receptivity, support and going with the flow.
• Lower trigram　Lí, Fire: light, clarity and attachment.

The Judgment

It furthers to persevere through hardship.

利艱貞。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

The light is hidden for now: guarding your inner self through difficulty. Today suits keeping a low profile, protecting yourself, and keeping the light inside.

Something to do today

• Say less and do more today; note your ideas down for now.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.