46. Pushing Upward
Judgment
Pushing Upward brings supreme success — one must see the great person. Do not be concerned about southward march. Offering to the ruler brings blessings.
Image
Earth above and wood growing within — the superior person accumulates small virtues to become strong.
Changing Lines
Pushing upward from below — great good fortune through sincere effort.
Sincere in pushing upward — offering a small sacrifice brings great good fortune. No blame.
Pushing upward into an empty city — advancing with confidence into clearance.
The king offers sacrifice on the mountain — supreme good fortune. No blame.
Pushing upward through the steps — advancing through proper order brings good fortune.
Pushing upward in the dark — persistent effort through uncertainty is beneficial.
Reading Pushing Upward today
When Pushing Upward (升) appears in a modern casting, it's rarely about ancient kings or dragons in any literal sense. The hexagram speaks in metaphor about a shape your situation is taking right now. The lower gentle wind sits beneath the upper receptive earth, pairing penetrating influence, slow persistence, gradual change with yielding, holding space, devoted patience. Read this as the inside meeting the outside: how you carry yourself underneath versus how the situation arrives on top.
The hexagram's recurring themes — ascending, pushing_upward, growth — usually surface in real life around decisions where the question is less "what should I do" and more "what does this moment actually want from me." Read the Legge judgment above slowly, then sit with the changing lines if any showed up in your cast: the lines are where the hexagram's advice becomes specific to your question, not the situation in general.
Questions Pushing Upward answers well
- Where is real growth waiting if I look closely?
- What does this hexagram say about my current situation?
- Should I act, wait, or step back from this?
- Where is the real change happening underneath the surface?
Curious how this would read against your own question? Cast Pushing Upward as a live reading in Hexora →