Hexagram 1:

qiáncreating, initiative, authority, mastery

Upper TrigramHeaven
Lower TrigramHeaven

Judgment

qiáncreating, initiative, authority, mastery
yuánfirst-rate, supreme, the finest, greatest
hēngfulfillment, satisfaction, success
worth, the harvest of; merits, rewards
zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve, loyalty

The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance. The Matrix's rain perseveres—constantly regenerating, never depleting, streaming endlessly through the simulation. Like the ancient dragon symbol associated with Qián, it represents awakening energy, the moment before spring thunder breaks winter's stillness.

Image

tiānheaven; the sky; celestial; higher nature
xíngmoves, advances, proceeds, acts, behaves
jiànlasting vigor; inexhaustibly
jūnnoble, worthy, honored
young one, heir, disciple
accordingly, therefore, thus
naturally, inherently, intrinsically
qiánginvigorated, energetic, empowered, strong
without, with no
ceasing, relaxing, resting, pause; restless

The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring. Six unbroken lines demand sustained output, the ceaseless computation visible in those falling characters.

Digital Artifact

The Matrix Digital Rain

Simon Whiteley (Production Designer) (1999)

The Matrix opens with cascading columns of phosphorescent glyphs—katakana, numerals, reversed letters—streaming down a black void. Created by Simon Whiteley in 1999 from his wife's Japanese cookbooks, this digital rain represents raw information before meaning, code before compilation. Pure potential in constant flux. The Wachowskis called it "the code of the Matrix," but it's the visual manifestation of undifferentiated creative force: energy without form, yang without yin, the moment before reality crystallizes. Six unbroken lines of pure yang—maximum creative energy, zero grounding.

Historical Context

Period
Shang Dynasty (circa 1200 BCE)
Oracle Bone Etymology
In Shang Dynasty oracle bone script (circa 1200 BCE), the character 乾 depicted the sun's rising energy, yang principle in its most concentrated expression.
Traditional Use
Zhou diviners cast this configuration when circumstances favored bold initiative, when creative force moved without obstruction.

Lines

Line 1: 潛龍勿用

qiánconcealed, submerged, lurking, hidden
lóngdragon
not at all; not to be; do not
yònguseful; used, employed; use, apply, engage

Line 2: 見龍在田利見大人

jiànsee, encounter, meet with; appears
lóngdragon
zàiin, here in, across; on
tiánfield; hunt
worthwhile, rewarding, productive
jiànto see, encounter, meet with, consult
mature, complete, realized, great
rénhuman being, character, one, person, man

Line 3: 君子終日乾乾夕惕若厲無咎

jūnnoble, worthy, honored
young one, heir, disciple
zhōngthroughout; ends, completes, finishes; all
day, daylight
qiáncreating, creatively; dynamically, doubly
qiáncreating; energetic
night, nightfall, dark, twilight, evening
anxious, alarmed, frightful, careworn
ruòseeming, looking, appearing
struggle, adversity, hardship; stressful
no; not, nothing; no harm done
jiùblame; wrong, mistake, error; harm

Line 4: 或躍在淵無咎

huòsomehow, perhaps, perchance, maybe
yuèto dance, gambol, hop, cavort, leap
zàiacross, on, upon, over, above; in, within
yuāndeep, depth, abyss, chasm
avoid; not, nothing; without, with no
jiùwrong; mistake, error

Line 5: 飛龍在天利見大人

fēiin flight, on the wing; flying, soaring
lóngdragon
zàiacross, in, within
tiānheaven; the sky, skies, heavens
worthwhile, rewarding, productive
jiànto see, encounter, meet with, consult
mature, complete, realized, great
rénhuman being, character, one, person, man

Line 6: 亢龍有悔

kàngarrogant, excessive, pretentious, proud
lóngdragon
yǒuhas, will have; learns, will learn
huǐregret, remorse; to regret, repent

Practical Guidance

You're in the boot sequence. Engines fire, trajectory undefined. This is startup energy, the founder's vision before market forces shape it, the artist's impulse before the canvas constrains it. Six unbroken lines—maximum creative energy, zero grounding. The question isn't whether you have power—you do. The question is: where will it land? Here's what this probably means: you have energy, ideas, momentum right now. Good. Pure yang can't sustain itself indefinitely. The Matrix's digital rain streams forever because it's fiction. Your project runs on finite resources—time, capital, attention span, the patience of people around you. The pattern here is: unsustainable acceleration phase. Use it or crash. The classical text uses the dragon metaphor across all six lines: hidden in the depths (potential), appearing in the field (manifestation), active all day (sustained effort), leaping from transition, flying in the heavens (full expression), and finally—the one everyone forgets—"arrogant dragon will have cause to repent." The failure mode isn't lack of creative force. You clearly have that or you wouldn't have drawn this hexagram. The failure mode is mistaking the boot sequence for the operating system. That's exciting for about ten seconds. Then you need to know where you're going and how you'll get there with the fuel you actually have. The dragon must eventually descend. Even infinite loops need exit conditions.

Get an interactive reading with this hexagram

Try the Oracle →