I Ching Hexagram 46 (Pushing Upward): Meaning in Love, Career and Life
Hexagram 46 is the pushing-upward hexagram of the I Ching: wood growing inside the earth, the tree rising from below without being planted by hand. Its classical judgment reads "supreme success; favorable to see the great person; do not worry; favorable to campaign in the south" (元亨，用见大人，勿恤，南征吉), and its image — wood within the earth — says the noble one "follows virtue and accumulates the small to become great" (顺德，积小以高大). When Hexagram 46 appears in a reading, it describes ascent: the rise that comes from within, the growth that cannot be hurried — and the hexagram's exact counsel about how the small becomes the great.
The Story of Hexagram 46: The Tree Under the Field
The scene is a field with a tree under it. Nothing is visible from above — the work is all happening below, in the dark, where roots take hold and the trunk thickens. The old commentators read the hexagram from that invisibility: 升 is pushing upward, and the pushing is done underground. The tree does not leap; it accumulates. What the field sees is the result; what the earth knows is the process.
The judgment grants the full favorable set — 元亨 — plus the two instructions: see the great person (用见大人), and do not worry (勿恤). The ascent is real, and the anxiety about it is unnecessary. And the image names the mechanism: 积小以高大 — accumulate the small to become great. The tree's height is the sum of invisible additions.
The lines are the stages of a rise. The first line is the hexagram's foundation: 允升，大吉 — the ascent that is trusted, granted great good fortune. The rise that begins with the trust of those around it is the favorable one. The second line is the plain sacrifice received (孚乃利用禴祭) — the honest offering at the ascent, accepted because it is honest. The third line the empty city entered (升虚邑) — the ascent that meets no resistance, the rise into the undefended place. The fourth line is the hexagram's named scene: 王用亨于岐山 — the king offers at Mount Qi — and the hexagram grants 吉，无咎. The fifth line is the ascent by the stairs (贞吉，升阶) — the stepwise rise, perseverance favorable. And the final line is the hexagram's extremity: 冥升 — the blind ascent, rising without seeing — and its condition: 利于不息之贞, favorable through the perseverance that does not stop.
The tree under the field is not resting. It is accumulating.
What Is Hexagram 46?
- Name: 升 (Shēng), traditionally rendered Pushing Upward; also translated as Ascending, Rising, or Growth
- Structure: Earth over Wind — wood within the earth, the tree rising from below
- Position: 46 of 64, the hexagram after Gathering Together; what the gathered lake becomes
- Element: Wood on the body trigram — the lower trigram (wind) belongs to Wood; earth above belongs to Earth
- Body trigram: the lower trigram (wind, Wood), which in plum blossom divination represents the self
- Core images: wood within the earth, the empty city, the offering at Mount Qi, the stairs, the blind ascent
The Core Meaning of Hexagram 46
The judgment of Hexagram 46 grants supreme success to ascent — 元亨 — with the hexagram's two practical instructions: see the great person, and do not worry. The rise is real and the anxiety is unnecessary. What the hexagram describes is not the leap but the accumulation: 积小以高大, the small becoming the great, the invisible additions that become the visible height.
Three things this hexagram is telling you, each standing on its own:
Ascent is underground before it is visible. Wood within the earth — the hexagram's entire mechanism is invisible. What looks like a rise from the outside is an accumulation from the inside. The hexagram's counsel is to trust the process that cannot be seen, and to keep feeding it.
The rise is trusted or it does not rise. The first line is 允升 — the ascent that is trusted, granted great good fortune. What makes the beginning of a rise favorable is the trust around it: the people who believe in the tree before it breaks the surface. The hexagram grants its great fortune to the trusted ascent.
The rise has stages, and the stairs are one of them. The fifth line is 升阶 — the ascent by the stairs. Not the leap, not the climb — the steps, one at a time, perseverance favorable. And the final line is the hexagram's extremity: the blind ascent (冥升) — rising without seeing — favorable only through the perseverance that does not stop (不息之贞). The rise that continues past its visibility is held by the persistence alone.
The question Hexagram 46 answers is not "how high?" It is: is the accumulation happening underground — and is the rise trusted, staged, and persisted in?
Hexagram 46 in Love and Relationships
If you are single: Hexagram 46 describes the invisible ascent — the self growing underground, the accumulation that is not yet visible. The hexagram's counsel for the single season: 积小以高大 — accumulate the small. The rise that will be seen later is the rise being built now, in the dark, and the hexagram grants its supreme success to exactly this patience. And 勿恤 — do not worry about the invisibility.
In an early or uncertain stage: Early love under Hexagram 46 is the underground phase — the roots taking hold, nothing visible yet. The hexagram's lines are its counsel: the trusted ascent (line 1) is the bond those around you believe in; the plain sacrifice (line 2) is the honest offering, received; the empty city (line 3) is the rise that meets no resistance. And the fifth line is its promise: the stairs — the stepwise rise, one stage at a time.
In a stable relationship: A stable relationship drawing Hexagram 46 is in its ascent phase — the bond growing, the shared life rising. The hexagram's counsel for the long term is its image: 积小以高大. The long rise is the sum of invisible additions — the small faithful things, accumulated. And its fourth line is its long-bond image: 王用亨于岐山 — the king offering at the mountain. The ascent is consecrated at the high place; the rise is acknowledged where it is due.
In a crisis: If the relationship is at the final line — the blind ascent — Hexagram 46's condition is its extremity: 利于不息之贞. Rising without seeing, favorable only through the perseverance that does not stop. The crisis of ascent is the moment when the rise has gone past its own visibility — and what holds it is the persistence, not the view.
Hexagram 46 in Career, Money and Decisions
Career: This is the ascent hexagram of professional life — the rise from below, the growth that is underground before it is visible. Its career counsel is the judgment: supreme success (元亨), see the great person (用见大人), do not worry (勿恤). The image is the career discipline: 积小以高大 — the accumulation of the small. The fifth line is its career stage: 升阶 — the stairs. And the final line is its career extremity: the blind ascent, held by the perseverance alone.
Money: Hexagram 46 governs money in ascent — the growing position, the accumulating reserve, the rise that is underground before it is visible. Its financial counsel is the image: accumulate the small (积小以高大). The trusted ascent (line 1) is its financial foundation: the position those around you believe in. The empty city (line 3) is its financial image: the rise that meets no resistance. And the fifth line's stairs are its financial method: stepwise, not in leaps.
Decision: Hexagram 46 says: rise — by accumulation. If you are deciding whether to advance, the hexagram's test is its image: is the accumulation happening underground (积小), is the ascent trusted (允升), and is the rise staged (升阶) or blind (冥升)? The decision it blesses is the patient accumulation; the decision it marks is the leap without roots.
The Changing Lines of Hexagram 46: Six Scenes
Each line of Hexagram 46 is one scene in the life of an ascent — its trust, its sacrifice, its empty city, its mountain, its stairs, and its blindness.
Line 1 (初六) — The ascent is trusted; great good fortune. The scene: the rise that those around you believe in. The modern reading: the foundation line. 允升，大吉 — the ascent granted its trust and its great fortune. What makes a rise favorable at the beginning is not its size but the belief around it.
Line 2 (九二) — With sincerity, even the plain sacrifice is received; no blame. The scene: the honest offering at the ascent. The modern reading: the offering line. 孚乃利用禴祭，无咎 — the plain sacrifice received because the sincerity is real. The rise that is fed by honest offerings (not grand ones) is the rise that is received.
Line 3 (九三) — Ascending into the empty city. The scene: the rise that meets no resistance. The modern reading: the open line. 升虚邑 — the ascent into the undefended place. The rise that finds its ground unopposed is the rise that was timed correctly. The empty city is not luck; it is the season.
Line 4 (六四) — The king offers at Mount Qi; good fortune; no blame. The scene: the ascent consecrated at the high place. The modern reading: the consecration line. 王用亨于岐山，吉，无咎 — the king's offering at the mountain where his house rose. The ascent is acknowledged where it is due, and the acknowledgment is favorable.
Line 5 (六五) — Perseverance is favorable; ascending the stairs. The scene: the stepwise rise. The modern reading: the center line. 贞吉，升阶 — the ascent by the stairs, one step at a time, perseverance favorable. The hexagram's central image of correct rising: not the leap, the steps.
Line 6 (上六) — The blind ascent; favorable through the perseverance that does not stop. The scene: the rise that continues past its own visibility. The modern reading: the extremity line. 冥升，利于不息之贞 — rising without seeing, held by the persistence that does not stop. The ascent that has gone past its view is carried by the refusal to stop.
When all six lines change: Hexagram 46 turns toward Hexagram 47 — ascent completed becomes oppression. The tree that has risen becomes the wood that is constrained.
How to Read Hexagram 46 with the Number Oracle
Hexagram 46 reaches you the same way every hexagram does: through three numbers that arise naturally while you hold your question — a clock, a receipt, a page number, a number that simply surfaces. The first number sets the upper trigram, the second the lower trigram, and the third identifies the changing line. Enter your three numbers and your question at numbers-oracle.com and you will get the hexagram plus an AI interpretation written for your situation — free, no registration. For the mechanics, read how three numbers become a hexagram →
Your lucky energy for Hexagram 46: Wood element (the body trigram, the wood below). Lucky colors are green and tender sprout tones; the matching crystal is malachite, traditionally associated with growth, renewal, and fresh starts.
Related hexagrams: Hexagram 45 (Gathering Together) — the lake that becomes the tree; Hexagram 53 (Development) — the other gradual rise, at walking pace; Hexagram 35 (Progress) — the sunrise ascent.
Hexagram 46: Common Questions
What does hexagram 46 mean in one sentence?
Hexagram 46 means pushing upward — supreme success for the ascent that accumulates underground, trusted by those around it, staged by the stairs, and persisted in even when it goes blind.
Is hexagram 46 always good?
Hexagram 46 grants supreme success (元亨) and do not worry (勿恤) to ascent — it is one of the Book's favorable rise signs. Its one condition is at the extremity: the blind ascent (冥升) is favorable only through the perseverance that does not stop. The hexagram favors the patient accumulation and warns the rise that continues without seeing.
What should I do when I receive hexagram 46?
Check which line changed. The trusted ascent (line 1) means the belief around you is the foundation; the plain sacrifice (line 2) means offer honestly, not grandly; the empty city (line 3) means the rise meets no resistance — move; the offering at Mount Qi (line 4) means consecrate the rise where it is due; the stairs (line 5) means rise by steps; the blind ascent (line 6) means the rise past visibility is held by persistence alone.
Why is hexagram 46 called "Pushing Upward"?
Because its image is wood growing within the earth — 地中生木 — the tree rising from below, invisible before it is visible. The old translators rendered it Pushing Upward or Ascending because the hexagram's subject is ascent by accumulation: the small becoming the great, the underground work that becomes the height.
The tree under the field is not resting. It is accumulating.