Yi Jing · Chinese tarot
Abundance
Hexagram 55 of the Yi Jing · 丰 Fēng
The figure
Thunder above Fire: movement and clarity at their height, the blazing noon. The image of abundance, of the peak that does not last.
What this figure illuminates
Abundance lights up moments of fullness, of dazzling success. But the zenith is also where the decline begins: wisdom is to enjoy the summit without believing it eternal.
For a decision, the figure invites you to inhabit the full moment without clenching: “how do I enjoy this abundance while lucidly preparing for what comes after the peak?”.
The classical text
The Judgment
Abundance: fullness and its success. When you reach the height, do not grieve that it must pass — be like the sun at noon, and give while the light is full.
The Image
Thunder and lightning both arrive at their height. Seeing this, the noble person judges disputes and metes out justice with precision.
The Six Lines
- First line
You meet the one whose measure matches yours. Though you are alike, joining is no error — go on together, briefly, and it wins approval.
- Second line
At high noon the light is so curtained you see the stars — clarity blotted out by what stands between. Do not force through the distrust; let sincerity open the way, and good fortune.
- Third line
The eclipse deepens — at noon you see even the faintest star, and your right arm is broken; you cannot act. No blame for the failure, for the darkness is not yours.
- Fourth line
Still curtained at noon, the stars visible — but now you meet one who is your peer, and the light begins to return. Good fortune.
- Fifth line
You draw brilliant, capable people around you. There is cause for praise and congratulation — good fortune.
- Sixth line
You raise a great house, but it only walls you in — you peer out the door on stillness, no one there. Cut off in your own abundance for years: misfortune.
Daoa's wording, written after the classical reference translations, now in the public domain: James Legge (1882) and Charles de Harlez (1889).
A question to keep
How do you inhabit this full moment without believing it eternal?
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