初九：咸临，贞吉。
Begin an approach through sincere responsiveness and sound intentions. Establish a basis on which both sides are willing to engage.
I Ching Hexagram 19
Lín · Approach
临 · Hexagram 19
Lin concerns approaching people and situations with strength and goodwill. Earth above the Lake suggests a widening capacity to support and engage. Active care and leadership are timely, provided that growing influence does not turn attention into condescending interference.
Upper trigram: Earth/Kūn
Lower trigram: Lake/Duì
The situation you may be in
You may be gaining trust, guiding someone, or finding an opening for greater closeness. Conditions are becoming favorable. Understand actual needs directly rather than giving instructions solely from your own perspective.
How to respond
Approach directly, listen carefully, and offer help the other person can use. In favorable conditions, build their independence as well as present progress, remembering that the opening will change.
Judgment and Image
Judgment
临：元亨利贞。至于八月有凶。
Approach has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune.
Image
泽上有地，临；君子以教思无穷，容保民无疆。
Earth above the lake: Approach. The superior person is inexhaustible in his will to teach and endless in his tolerance and protection of the people.
Applying it to real life
Love & relationships
Initiate care, time together, and deeper understanding. Ask what is needed before helping, so attention does not become deciding for someone or demanding affection in return.
Career & work
Guide newcomers, understand the people you serve, and develop cooperation. Leadership benefits from direct contact with everyday conditions, supplying direction and support while allowing capable people room to act.
Choice & decisions
Initiative is possible, but check whether those affected actually benefit. A choice that builds mutual capacity is stronger than one that merely enlarges your own influence.
Timing & pace
Favorable conditions are approaching, so use the opening and strengthen foundations. The warning about the eighth month concerns reversal; it should not be treated as a personal prediction of misfortune in August.
The six changing lines
The lines unfold from the bottom upward, describing one pattern of change from its first appearance to its extreme. If your reading has a changing line, begin with that position.
九二：咸临，吉无不利。
Mutual response is becoming established. Turn goodwill into practical cooperation so the connection moves beyond courtesy into shared effort.
六三：甘临，无攸利。既忧之，无咎。
An approach made only of pleasant words accomplishes little. Recognizing that weakness and changing your conduct can still repair it.
六四：至临，无咎。
Meet the other person's situation directly. Understanding the need and offering fitting help matters more than distant, abstract concern.
六五：知临，大君之宜，吉。
Wise leadership trusts appropriate people and understands the direction. It does not need to take over every detail.
上六：敦临，吉无咎。
Approach with generosity and lasting care. Support that remains after initial excitement gives the relationship a dependable foundation.
A common misreading
Lin does not entitle a leader or elder to decide for others. It values presence, discernment, and generosity; flattering words and controlling care cannot replace useful support.
Related hexagrams
Text and interpretation
Updated 12 September 2026Reviewed by MysticEast Research
This page preserves the Chinese Judgment, Image, and line texts of the received Zhouyi. MysticEast's modern explanations are newly written to emphasize stages of change and practical judgment rather than fixed good-or-bad predictions.
Read the Zhouyi at the Chinese Text ProjectLet the hexagram meet your actual question
A guide gives you the map. A cast made with a clear question can help locate the exact stage of change you are experiencing.