Hexagram 22
Surface and Substance
bì
Reading it as a decision
Fire glows at the base of a still mountain in Bì, casting light without changing what's underneath — this hexagram is about presentation, the layer of form and appearance wrapped around something more substantial. The judgment is modest on purpose: success, and only a small advantage in moving forward, not a sweeping endorsement. It suits a decision that turns on how something is packaged, pitched, or presented — a proposal, a product, an image — where the underlying substance is mostly settled and the open question is how it's shown.
The signal here is genuinely mixed, and the classical line texts split fairly evenly between favorable and cautionary — not a strong push to commit either way, more a call to watch how the presentation lands before assuming it's finished the job. The decision-facing point is proportion: attention to appearance helps here, but only as a complement to something real underneath it, not a substitute for it.
The classical text
Judgment (卦辭)
賁，亨。小利有所往。
Adornment brings success, with modest benefit in setting out to do something.
The six lines (爻辭)
初九：賁其趾，舍車而徒。
Adorning his own feet, he sets aside the carriage and walks instead.
六二：賁其須。
Adorning the beard — ornament simply following what is already there.
九三：賁如濡如，永貞吉。
Richly adorned and glowing with luster, lasting constancy brings good fortune.
六四：賁如皤如，白馬翰如，匪寇婚媾。
Dressed plainly in white, riding a swift white horse — not raiders approaching, but a wedding party.
六五：賁于丘園，束帛戔戔，吝，終吉。
Simple adornment among hills and gardens, offering only modest bundles of silk — humble at first, good in the end.
上九：白賁，無咎。
Adornment stripped back to plain white — no fault in it.
This is a general reference, not a live reading — it doesn't know your situation. iYarrow casts a fresh hexagram for the actual question you're weighing.
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