49 · King Wen sequence
Hexagram 49: Revolution
革 · Gé · upper Lake over lower Fire
The old order has run its course, and real change is due.
The reading
Revolution is the hexagram of ordained change. The lake above and fire below are two natures that cannot coexist: water puts out flame, flame boils water away. Something in your life has reached this point, where the old arrangement cannot continue and everyone senses it. This is not fashion. It is the recognition that the structure has expired, and keeping it means slow decay. Change is not optional here; only its manner is.
The manner is everything, and the hexagram is strict about it. Revolution before its time is rebellion; revolution without trust is violence. First make the reason clear until the reluctant understand it. Then move decisively, because half-measures after the announcement only prolong the pain. The calendar image matters: change announced at the right season feels like weather. Change forced at the wrong one feels like assault. Win the trust, read the season, then act.
The image
Fire burns under the lake, water and flame refusing each other. The wise read the seasons of heaven and set the calendar right, because change ordained by timing carries everyone along.
Change the season first in people's hearts, then in the world.
When you cast this hexagram
- A system, relationship, or habit that has run its course.
- Knowing change is due but people do not trust it yet.
- It is time to end this cleanly before it rots further.
- Reaching the point where only a fresh start will do.
In love and relationships
In love, Revolution means the old arrangement is finished: the dynamic that cannot continue, the pattern everyone feels but nobody names. Name it plainly and propose the new terms, but only after your partner trusts the reason. Change announced without trust feels like attack; change with trust feels like relief. Do not mistake this for permission to detonate the relationship. Revolution here is transformation, not destruction: the same bond, re-founded on honest ground.
In work and career
At work this is the restructure hexagram: the strategy that expired, the team that needs rebuilding, the business model that cannot continue. Do not tinker; the lake and fire cannot be reconciled. First win trust in the reason: show the numbers, name the decay, let people see why. Then move fast and completely, because a slow revolution is just prolonged pain. Those who lead change this way are remembered as rebuilders. Those who force it are remembered as destroyers.
When you have a decision to make
When a real decision is on the table, Revolution says the old option is dead; stop considering it. Your decision is about the new order: what replaces the expired arrangement, and how the change is carried out. Decide only when you can explain the reason so clearly that even the reluctant understand. Then commit completely, because half-revolutions satisfy nobody. Time it like weather: announce at the right season, move decisively, and let the new calendar begin.
The six changing lines
Read only the lines that came up moving in your own cast. If none did, stay with the hexagram as a whole. Each line below links to the hexagram that line turns into.
The superior person changes like the leopard, subtly; the small merely change their face. Marching now brings misfortune; remaining brings good fortune.
The great one changes like the tiger, stripes unmistakable. Trust comes before any oracle is cast; the transformation is total and visible.
Regret disappears because the people trust the change. The mandate itself is renewed; good fortune follows genuine transformation.
Marching now brings misfortune; pressing on brings danger. Speak of the change three times over until it is trusted, then move.
On the day itself, march forth. When the season has truly come, action brings good fortune and no blame.
Wrapped in the hide of a yellow cow: bound, steady, not yet moving. At the start, restraint is the revolution; hold your position.
How it relates to the other hexagrams
These links are derived from the line structure, not from editorial opinion. Flip a line, reverse the stack, or read the inner lines, and you land on a specific neighbour.
Nuclear · 互卦
Lines 2–4 and 3–5 of this hexagram form another one. It is the inner situation — what is really going on underneath what you were asking about.
Complementary · 错卦
Every line flips. This is the exact opposite stance: the position you are not taking, which is often the thing the reading is contrasting you with.
Inverse · 综卦
Turn the whole stack upside down and you get this. The same circumstance seen from the other end — usually the person on the other side of it.
If one line changes
Same upper or lower trigram
Scholar's details
| Number | 49 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Binary (bottom → top) | 101110 (1 = yang, 0 = yin) |
| Upper trigram | ☱ 兑 Duì — Lake, Metal, Youngest Daughter |
| Lower trigram | ☲ 离 Lí — Fire, Fire, Middle Daughter |
| Key ideas | change, transformation, timing, trust, renewal, courage |
Have a question of your own?
This page tells you what the hexagram means. A casting tells you which one you are actually in.