Hexagram 32
恆 Héng
Duration
☳ Thunder above ☴ Wind
Judgment 卦辭
亨。无咎。利貞。利有攸往。
Commentary
Success without blame. Persistence furthers. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. Duration isn't stagnation—standing still is regression. True duration is self-renewing movement, following immutable laws, beginning fresh at every ending. Like celestial orbits, like seasons, the pattern continues because it keeps moving.
Classical Text
恒巽下震上 恒，亨，无咎，利貞。 利有攸往。 利有攸往者，得其常道，何往不利，故曰利有攸往也。
Heng (Duration). Sun (Wind) below, Zhen (Thunder) above. Duration. Success, no blame, benefit from Correctness. Benefit in having somewhere to go. As for 'benefit in having somewhere to go': having attained the constant Way, where could one go without benefit? Therefore it says 'benefit in having somewhere to go.'
Image 象
雷風，恆。君子以立不易方。
Thunder and wind—extreme mobility, yet the laws governing them endure. The superior person stands firm without rigidity. What endures is the inner directive, not the external position. Change with the time while keeping the unswerving center.
Lines 爻辭
浚恆貞凶無攸利
Seeking duration too quickly brings persistent misfortune. Nothing furthers. What lasts must be built gradually through sustained work. Demanding too much at once means achieving nothing in the end.
Classical commentary
初六，浚恒，貞凶，无攸利。
Initial Six. Deepening duration. Correctness brings misfortune. Nothing is beneficial.
悔亡
Remorse disappears. Your character exceeds your current circumstances. Control inner strength to avoid excess. Duration makes this restraint possible.
Classical commentary
九二，悔亡。
Nine in the Second. Regret disappears.
不恆其德或承之羞貞吝
Inconsistency in character meets disgrace. Hope or fear from outside destroys inner constancy. The resulting humiliations aren't random—they're logical consequences of your own volatility.
Classical commentary
九三，不恒其德，或承之羞，貞吝。
Nine in the Third. Not making one's virtue constant—someone may bring disgrace upon it. Correctness brings regret.
田無禽
No game in the field. You can't catch what isn't there. Persistence alone isn't enough; you must seek in the right place. Effort misdirected wastes everything.
Classical commentary
九四，田无禽。
Nine in the Fourth. Hunting in the field, no game.
恆其德貞婦人吉夫子凶
Giving duration to character through perseverance. Good for a woman, not for a man. Holding conservatively to tradition works for some roles. Others require flexibility—doing what the moment demands rather than what was done before.
Classical commentary
六五，恒其德貞。婦人吉，夫子凶。
Six in the Fifth. Making one's virtue constantly correct. For a wife, auspicious; for a husband, misfortune.
振恆凶
Restlessness as permanent state. Perpetual hurry without inner composure. This prevents thoroughness and becomes dangerous in positions of authority. Misfortune.
Classical commentary
上六，振恒，凶。
Top Six. Shaking duration. Misfortune.