Hexagram 19
Approach
臨Lín
☷ Earth above, ☱ Lake below
The earth descends to just above the lake: in that benevolent nearness of the high to the low, a time of approach and growth begins.
The JudgmentApproach has supreme success; perseverance brings reward. But when the eighth month comes, there is misfortune. The great approaches: a time of growth begins, and precisely because such a time is seasonal, it wants to be used to the full.
The ImageAbove the lake is the earth: the image of approach. Thus the noble one is inexhaustible in his readiness to teach, and without limits in carrying and protecting the people. The bank bends down toward the water: those who stand higher bend toward what wants to grow, generous and untiring.
InterpretationA time of growth is announcing itself: the light is advancing, opportunities and energy present themselves, children and projects and feelings want to rise. The sign attaches two instructions. First: invest generously, right now; guide what is coming up, teach whoever wants to learn, give without stinginess, for in spring no one sows sparingly. The Image sketches the posture: like the bank bending toward the water, inexhaustible in teaching and boundless in carrying. Second: remember that the eighth month comes; every season of growth is finite, and if you plant as though spring will last forever, you plant too little and too late. No gloom, then, but a sense of season: use the tide fully, and build with the yield something that can withstand autumn.
Place in the sequenceThis hexagram follows 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled: after clearing away decay, something great can begin to grow. Approach means becoming great. It forms a pair with 20 · Contemplation.
Nuclear hexagram
The nuclear hexagram of Approach is 24 · Return: The turning point: after the darkest time the light returns of its own accord; protect the tender recovery and do not overtax it. It is formed from the inner lines and shows the hidden core of the situation.
The six lines
These texts belong to changing lines in a reading, from the bottom up.
Nine at the beginningruling line
Joint approach: perseverance brings good fortune. The good is beginning to move and you may rise with it: the time lifts you up together with others. Go along, but on your own course: let the current carry you without being dragged into every direction it takes. Like when your whole group of friends takes up running and you join in: run along, at your pace, toward your own goal. Riding a good wave is wise; dissolving into it is not. The question with every opportunity of this phase is simple: does it also fit where I want to go?
Nine in the second placeruling line
Joint approach: good fortune, everything is favorable. The ascent is broad and carried by many; even what will later turn against you cannot stop this movement now. Do not fear the future while things are going well: worries about autumn are no reason to live spring by halves. Love is blossoming and you are already lying awake over the crack that is yet to come: a waste of those nights. Dare to let prosperity simply be prosperity, and act generously; the confidence of this line is not naivety but strength that knows it can handle the turn later too.
Six in the third place
Comfortable approach:
nothing that furthers. But those who sorrow over it become free of blame. It goes so easily that it turns careless: successes drift in and the sharpness slackens, in your dealings, in your work, in the promises you make. The money flows in smoothly and you stop counting; saving shifts to later. Notice that carelessness in yourself and be genuinely startled by it: then you recover without damage, for the fright is itself the correction. Success without self-examination is a loan whose repayment comes due on its own.
Six in the fourth place
Complete approach:
no blame. Come truly close: without rank, without distance, without the protection of your role. Draw capable people toward you and give them real access, at the table and not in the waiting room. The same holds in love: let the other see your house as it is, not the tidied version you keep for guests. Openness from above to below is rare and binds more strongly than any gift. Talent does not stay for a title; it stays for the door that truly stands open.
Six in the fifth place
Wise approach, as befits a great prince:
good fortune. The art of delegation: attract the right people, let them do their work, and do not meddle in everything. Approaching wisely is approaching in measure: close enough to support, far enough not to smother. Like hiring a good craftsman and then standing beside the ladder pointing: you pay twice, in money and in goodwill. Once you have chosen the right people, you prove your wisdom through trust; checking everything afterwards is distrust of your own judgment.
Six at the top
Greathearted approach:
good fortune, no blame. The ripest form: someone who is past the fray returns to help; not out of lack, but out of generosity. Experience that makes itself available without asking anything in return, without seizing control and without claiming old rights, is gold for anyone growing. The grandparent who babysits by the rules of the young parents, even where those rules seem strange, gives exactly this kind of help. If you have that experience: share it this way. If you encounter it: honor it, and drink from it.