䷒19 · Approach
Earth above the lake — the spring approaching; the great rising into view.
The Hexagram
Hexagram 19, *Lín*, is the image of the lake at the foot of the high earth — the moment the bright spring is approaching, the great is rising into the field. The classical name is *Approach*. The hexagram counsels: *supreme success; perseverance furthers; when the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune*. The two-part teaching: a great auspicious season is approaching — *and* it has a limit. Use the approach. Build during it. But know that no season lasts forever; the eighth month will come.
When you pull this hexagram
A bright season is approaching. Prepare to receive it. Build during it. And know it has a horizon — what you build during *Lín* is what you carry into the next season.
The changing lines
Line 3 is *comfortable approach; nothing that would further; if one is sorrowful about it, no blame* — the warning that comfort during *Lín* without effort is wasted approach. The grief at wasted opportunity is itself the redemption.
In love
A new closeness is approaching. Receive it without grasping; build the structure that will carry it past the season.
In work
A door is opening. Walk through. Build the project, claim the territory — knowing the season has a horizon.
The gift
*Bright season.* The recognition that the great is approaching and the moment to receive it is now.
The shadow
Wasting the approach. Treating the bright season as forever. The eighth month always comes.
3 questions to sit with
- What bright thing is approaching in my life right now that I have been treating as still-distant?
- What am I building during this season that will outlast it?
- Where am I being comfortable when I should be working?
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