Hexagram 24
Return
復
Upper
Earth · 坤
the receptive, yielding
Lower
Thunder · 震
the arousing, movement
Contemporary judgment
Return. A turning. The cycle reaches its low point and the light begins to come back. What had wandered returns of its own accord. Do not rush it or grasp at it; the movement is gentle, and forcing it breaks the fragile new sprout.
Image
Thunder within the earth. The winter solstice. The ancient kings closed the passes during the solstice so that travelers would not disturb the stillness.
Counsel
Welcome what comes back softly. Do not interrogate it; do not demand from it what it cannot yet give. This is a time of quiet tending, not ambitious plans. The warmth returns on its own schedule; your task is to be ready when it does.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A nine at the beginning means: Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune!
Line 2
A six in the second place means: Quiet Return. Good fortune!
Line 3
A six in the third place means: Repeated Return. Danger. No blame.
Line 4
A six in the fourth place means: Walking in the midst of the others, one returns alone.
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means: Magnanimous Return. No remorse.
Line 6
A six at the top means: Missing the Return. Misfortune. Misfortune from within and from without. If one sets armies marching in this way, one will in the end suffer a great defeat, so that for the lord of the land it is ominous. For ten years one is unable to attack.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.