Wisdom from the I Ching for 2026 and the First Lunar Month

This year’s I Ching image is Hexagram 46, Ascending — a year of slow, rooted growth.

The first Lunar month opens under Hexagram 11, Peacefulness, setting the conditions for how that ascent begins.

This hexagram, Earth trigram over Heaven trigram, signifies harmony. The two realms are in balance, flowing, and communicating.

So the implication for the first month (moon), when combined with the year, is that the first month can establish the balance that sets the year’s ascent.
If one brings their inner and outer life into balance early, growth becomes possible.

What does this mean for those seeking to cultivate?

This is a year of growth. Seek to strengthen that which gives root. In cultivation terms, this is a year that favors the idea of stabilizing the foundation — meaning, working on the necessary elements on which everything else is built or depends. That which is above rests upon what is beneath. What doesn’t have a solid foundation cannot be stable.

Focusing on gathering vitality, reducing unnecessary expenditure, and allowing practice to permeate your daily life in quiet ways is better than seeking intensity, speedy outcomes, or spreading out your energy by trying to do too much too fast.

Earth over Wind signifies that which is changing (keep in mind the year’s image for Hexagram #46, of the plant growing through the soil) is just beneath our perception.

But just like that tiny plant, over time, that which has taken root will begin to rise.

So if your practice feels slow, repetitive, ordinary, or even like nothing seems to be happening despite your dedication, that may be correct and suitable for this year’s condition.

Keep in mind that just because you can’t yet see it, it doesn’t mean nothing is occurring.

The first month with Hexagram #11, Peacefulness suggests that the year starts from a place of equilibrium, not conflict. If used wisely, the upward ascent stabilizes.

This is a great time to establish consistent rhythms, refine schedules, and reduce unnecessary excess.

The goal is not to intensify practice, but to allow what has taken root to begin circulating naturally between body, breath, and mind. It will require steady and consistent effort for that tiny plant to push through the Earth.

For cultivators, this can look like gathering Jing, consolidating Qi, and reducing leakage.

And in general, rooted movements rise. Flashy, rootless movements will burn out.