# Hexagram 44: Coming to Meet

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/44
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Qian 乾](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/qian), Heaven, the creative, strong
- **Lower trigram:** [Xun 巽](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/xun), Wind, the gentle, penetrating
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 011111 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Coming to meet. A small influence is entering the situation quietly. Whether it is welcome depends entirely on what it is; not all that approaches softly is friendly. Notice what is drawing near, and discern early whether it strengthens or subtly weakens you. Early clarity is decisive here.

## Image

Heaven above, wind below. The ruler disseminates their commands and proclaims them to the four quarters.

## Counsel

Pay attention to what you are admitting into your life: a new relationship, a new habit, a new commitment, a new narrative about yourself. Small entries grow. If the tone is wrong, address it now; it becomes much harder to correct later. If it is genuinely good, welcome it with appropriate care.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A six at the beginning means:
> One must check it with a brake of bronze.
> Perseverance brings good fortune.
> If one lets it run, one experiences misfortune.
> Even a lean pig has it in it to rage about.

### Line 2

> A nine in the second place means:
> There is a fish in the container. No blame!
> Not favorable for guests.

### Line 3

> A nine in the third place means:
> On the thighs there is no skin,
> and walking comes hard.
> If one is mindful of the danger,
> one makes no great mistake.

### Line 4

> A nine in the fourth place means:
> There is no fish in the container.
> Misfortune arises from this.

### Line 5

> A nine in the fifth place means:
> A melon covered with willow leaves:
> hidden lines.
> Then from heaven something falls to one.

### Line 6

> A nine at the top means:
> He comes to meet with his horns.
> Humiliation. No blame.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [1 The Creative](https://thefreeiching.com/library/1)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [43 Breakthrough](https://thefreeiching.com/library/43)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [24 Return](https://thefreeiching.com/library/24)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [1 The Creative](https://thefreeiching.com/library/1) |
| Line 2 | [33 Retreat](https://thefreeiching.com/library/33) |
| Line 3 | [6 Conflict](https://thefreeiching.com/library/6) |
| Line 4 | [57 The Gentle](https://thefreeiching.com/library/57) |
| Line 5 | [50 The Cauldron](https://thefreeiching.com/library/50) |
| Line 6 | [28 Great Preponderance](https://thefreeiching.com/library/28) |

Previous: [43 Breakthrough](https://thefreeiching.com/library/43). Next: [45 Gathering Together](https://thefreeiching.com/library/45). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 44: Coming to Meet." https://thefreeiching.com/library/44 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/44). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.