Hexagram 19 · Approach (臨 Lín)

By the Tao Arcana editors · for reflection, not fortune-telling

Approach is the hexagram of something good drawing near, a rising, favourable influence that grows the way spring follows winter. Two strong lines have appeared at the bottom of the figure and are pressing upward, gaining ground, like the first warmth pushing into the cold. This is a hopeful, expanding time. The opening is genuine and the energy is climbing, and the book wants you to use it while it lasts.

Earth sits above, receptive and yielding; Lake sits below, joyous and open. The two new yang lines below are the approach itself, growth on the rise. The commentary pairs the encouragement with one honest caveat: the favourable phase is real but it is not endless. There is even an old reference to misfortune in the eighth month, a reminder that seasons turn. So the counsel is to step forward generously now and to prepare wisely for the eventual ebb, the way a good harvest plans for the winter to come.

What this hexagram counsels in a reading

When Lin answers your question, an encouraging phase is approaching, and the counsel is to make the most of the rising tide. Step forward generously. Take the opening while it is open. At the same time, do not assume the good season is permanent; prepare for its eventual turn so that you are not caught out. The hexagram has a particular warmth toward those in a position of influence, advising them to approach others, teach, and protect without limit while the favourable time holds.

Why Approach sits directly after Work on the Decayed

Start with the judgment, because Lin does something almost no other hexagram does: it gives its own good news an end date.

The first four characters are the full formula that opens Qian, about as strong an opening as this book issues. The clause that follows puts a calendar entry on it. Not a warning about carelessness, not a condition you could fail to meet — a month. The Tuan wing, asked to explain, does not soften it either; it simply says 消不久也, the waning is not far off. The commentary treats the deadline as a fact of the season rather than a risk to be managed.

The Sequence wing arrives at Lin from the mess left behind by Gu, and it gets there by an argument about scale:

Note what the wing has done to the name. 臨 is a word about position — standing over something, coming close to it, the way a ruler stands over a territory or a person leans over a well. The gloss ignores all of that and says 大, great. Read the two halves together and the logic is unsentimental: dealing with the wreckage is what makes anything big, and being big is what Lin actually is. The warmth the hexagram is famous for is not in the wing at all.

Every one of the six lines is built the same way, 臨 with one character in front of it, and there are five different characters doing that job across the six. Only one of them fails.

甘 is sweet, agreeable, the taste word. The one approach the book refuses to endorse is the pleasant one, and the thing that rescues it is not a change of method — the line does not tell him to try a different approach. It tells him 既憂之, once he has worried about it. Anxiety alone converts 无攸利 into 无咎. Set that beside the eighth month in the judgment and the hexagram reads consistently: what saves you in Lin is knowing the season is going to turn. The sweet approach is condemned because it is the one that has forgotten.

The top line, where hexagrams often sour, gives 敦臨，吉无咎, generous approach, good fortune, no blame. So the figure ends well and is dated to end badly, both on the page, and the book does not reconcile them.

Judgment and line texts follow the copy at Chinese Wikisource, which prints 无 rather than 無 and 至于 rather than 至於; the Sequence clause on that site is printed with 而后 rather than 而後. Which month the 八月 refers to has been argued over since the Han, since it depends on which calendar you count from, and the text supplies no reckoning of its own — so nothing here turns on identifying it. The English is a plain rendering that stays close to the Chinese word order.

In love and relationships

For relationships, Approach is a warm and promising sign of growing closeness, of something good drawing nearer. It favours stepping toward the other person generously and openly, meeting them where they are. If a connection has been distant, this hexagram suggests the thaw is real and the moment is right to move closer. The one note of wisdom is not to take the warm season for granted, but to nurture it so it can deepen.

In work and money

In work, Lin marks a rising, expansive period where opportunities are growing and advancement is favoured. Move forward, take initiative, and make use of the climbing energy. With money, it points to growth and increasing fortune, while quietly advising you to prepare for the cycle's eventual turn rather than overextending on the assumption the rise continues forever.

Moving lines and the changing hexagram

The moving lines of Approach describe different qualities of drawing near, from joint and sincere approach, to approach that is merely comfortable, to the great and wise approach of a generous leader. A changing line here usually comments on how you are stepping toward your aim or your people. Read it as guidance on the spirit of your approach. The hexagram it becomes shows where the rising influence is heading once it has gathered.

Its Tarot kin

On the deck side of this site, Approach rhymes with The Empress. Both are images of fertile growth and generous, nurturing increase. The Empress presides over a season of flourishing and care; Lin is that same rising warmth, the favourable influence drawing near and inviting you to meet it generously.

Cast the coins and you might draw this one — try the I Ching tool, or see all sixty-four on the full hexagram grid. For reflection and insight, not fortune-telling — see our disclaimer.