Hexagram 45
Gathering Together
萃
Upper
Lake · 兌
the joyous, open
Lower
Earth · 坤
the receptive, yielding
Contemporary judgment
Gathering together. People come into one place for a shared purpose. The moment calls for a genuine center: a clear aim, a trustworthy leader, a sincere cause. Without it, a crowd is just a crowd. With it, the gathering becomes something capable of real work.
Image
The lake rising above the earth. The superior person keeps their weapons in good repair to meet the unexpected.
Counsel
Clarify your aim so that others can align with it honestly. Lead by real example rather than by demand. Be prepared for the turbulence that large gatherings always create; orderliness and foresight now prevent much later trouble. Gather the right people, and much becomes possible.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A six at the beginning means: If you are truthful, but not to the end, there is now confusion, now gathering. If you call, you can after a handclasp laugh again. Do not regret. To go there is without blame.
Line 2
A six in the second place means: Letting oneself be drawn brings good fortune and remains without blame. If one is truthful, it is also favorable to bring a small sacrifice.
Line 3
A six in the third place means: Gathering amid sighs. Nothing that would further. To go there is without blame. Small humiliation.
Line 4
A nine in the fourth place means: Great good fortune! No blame.
Line 5
A nine in the fifth place means: If in gathering one holds the necessary position, there is no blame. If some are not yet truly part of it, sublime, lasting perseverance is needed, then remorse vanishes.
Line 6
A six at the top means: Lamentation and sighing, tears in streams! No blame.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.