Grace

Grace has success. In small matters it furthers one to undertake something.

Grace is the art of making things beautiful without making them false. Fire at the foot of the mountain illuminates but does not consume. Form matters, but form without substance is decoration. Substance without form is invisible. The wise person cultivates both. Beauty in service of truth is grace. Beauty in place of truth is deception. Know the difference, especially when you are most proud of how something looks.

Hexagram 22, Bi (Grace), is the hexagram of form, beauty, and adornment. Fire at the foot of the mountain — illumination that reveals rather than destroys. The judgment is modest: success in small matters. Grace is important but not supreme. The image text contains a striking warning: the superior person clarifies administrative affairs but dares not make peremptory decisions in criminal cases. Grace is appropriate for civil matters but not for matters of life and death. The I Ching describes the present moment with such precision that the next natural movement becomes visible. Understanding the pattern you are in is the first step toward wise action.