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Hexagram 55 – Abundance (Feng)

By James Byrd

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I. The Oracle

A. Meaning
Hexagram 55, Feng—translated as Abundance or The Abounding—represents fullness and prosperity. It speaks of a time when one “has it all,” yet may still feel discontent within the abundance of their chateau with its dike. The lesson here is to cultivate gratitude: set back, take stock, and count your beans.

1. The Superior Man

   • Recognizes that abundance carries responsibility.

   • Must judge fairly, decide disputes with balance, and ensure justice.

   • Improvement and fairness are the only paths to true prosperity.

2. The Judgment

   • “Abundance has success.”

   • Be happy; you are where you planned to be.

B. The Image

• “Both thunder and lightning come.”

  • This is the image of Abundance.

  • The Superior Man renders judgments and carries out fair punishments, balancing the fullness of life with order.

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II. My Interpretation

Abundance marks a season of harvest, success, and the enjoyment of reward. This is a time to live with contentment, inventory what has been achieved, and allow yourself to rejoice in prosperity. Yet abundance also requires clarity and freedom from sorrow—only the one who remains inwardly free of care can sustain abundance and share it.

• The lower trigram, Sun, signifies wind.

• The upper trigram, Zhen, signifies thunder.
  Together, thunder over wind creates the image of dynamic abundance—a storm bringing energy, movement, and renewal. Rain may fall, but it nourishes as much as it disrupts.

This is a call to open and close communications wisely—knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to be still.

“Only he who remains inwardly free of sorrow and care can bring in a time of abundance.”

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References

• Huang, Kerson and Rosemary (1987). I Ching

• Karcher, S. and Ritsema, R. (1995). I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change

• Legge, James (2012). The I Ching: The Book of Changes (Sacred Books of China)

• Reifler, S. (1974). I Ching: The World’s Oldest and Most Revered System of Fortune Telling

• Van Over, R. (1971). I Ching

• Wilhelm, R., and Baynes, C.F. (1967). The I Ching, or Book of Changes (Bollingen Series XIX)

• Wilhelm, Hellmut and Richard Wilhelm (1995). Understanding the I Ching

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