The words
吉, jí, is what goes well: in Cambios, "good fortune." 凶, xiōng, is what goes badly: "misfortune." They're the two poles of the book's language.
The Great Commentary puts it this way: good fortune and misfortune are images of gaining and losing. They aren't rewards or punishments, but the shape a course of action takes when it plays out.
A scale
Between the two poles there are other formulas, from best to worst, roughly:
- Great good fortune (元吉, 大吉).
- Good fortune (吉).
- No fault (无咎): it's fine, nothing more.
- Regret (悔): something to be sorry for, but fixable.
- Distress (吝): a setback that chafes.
- Danger (厲).
- Misfortune (凶).
It isn't a fixed rule; each text adds its shading.
Almost always conditional
The I Ching rarely says "this will happen." It says "if you do this, good fortune; if you do that, misfortune." In Renewal: "Setting out brings misfortune. Abiding in constancy brings good fortune." The outcome hangs on where you stand.
In a reading
When you read "misfortune," don't take it as a sentence passed on you. Ask what course the text describes, and whether it's yours. When you read "good fortune," look for the condition that comes with it: there almost always is one.