Judgment
— I Ching · classical
元吉，亨。
The Cauldron. Supreme good fortune. Success.
Image
— Great Image
木上有火，鼎，君子以正位凝命。
Fire over wood: the image of the cauldron. Thus the superior person consolidates their fate by making their position correct.
Six Lines
— Bottom to top
Initial Six · 初六
⚋ yin
鼎颠趾，利出否，得妾以其子，无咎。
A cauldron with legs upturned. Furthers removal of stagnating stuff. One takes a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame.
Tip the cauldron to clear the old residue (li chu fou). A bypass to legitimacy (taking concubine for an heir) yields no blame in context.
Nine in the second · 九二
⚊ yang
鼎有实，我仇有疾，不我能即，吉。
There is food in the cauldron. My comrades are envious, but they cannot harm me. Good fortune.
Cauldron full (genuine capacity within); rivals jealous but cannot touch you. Fortune.
Nine in the third · 九三
⚊ yang
鼎耳革，其行塞，雉膏不食，方雨亏悔，终吉。
The handle of the cauldron is altered. One is impeded in their way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.
Cauldron's ear damaged, function stalled; the choicest food (fei gao) goes unused; when reconciliation comes, fortune.
Nine in the fourth · 九四
⚊ yang
鼎折足，覆公餗，其形渥，凶。
The legs of the cauldron are broken. The prince's meal is spilled, and his person is soiled. Misfortune.
Legs snap, the prince's banquet (gong su) spills, person dishonored — appointment of the unfit ruins everything. Major misfortune.
Six in the fifth · 六五
⚋ yin
鼎黄耳金铉，利贞。
The cauldron has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Perseverance furthers.
Central yellow ear, golden lifting ring — the leader who combines openness to talent (xu zhong) with golden firmness. Furthering.
Nine at the top · 上九
⚊ yang
鼎玉铉，大吉，无不利。
The cauldron has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not act to further.
Jade lifting rings — the highest temper of firmness and softness blended. Sublime fortune.
Modern Readings
— Interdisciplinary
Career & Management
Consolidation of new regime, naming the new core team, building the strategic brain trust. The central lesson: do NOT appoint the unfit (line 4 — broken cauldron leg) or all accumulated capital is lost.
Psychology & Cognition
Stable as a mountain; words weighty as ding (a thousand pounds). Raise your social stake; learn to coordinate complex stakeholder negotiations.
Decision Guidance
Make position correct (zheng wei ning ming); virtue must match position. Combine receptive openness with the golden firmness of the fifth line.
Western Parallels
— Cross-cultural
Jim Collins on 'first who, then what' (right people in right seats); Drucker on staffing for strengths; the constitutional notion of fit institutions; Plato's Republic on placing each according to their nature; modern board design.
· All texts here come from public-domain editions of the I Ching and supporting commentary.
· Anygua does not predict, score, schedule, ward, or recommend rituals.
· The same input via the same method will always reproduce the same hexagram — verifiable below.