I Ching · King Wen 13
Hexagram 13: Fellowship
䷌ 同人 Tóng Rén · also called Fellowship with Men, Community, Concording People · The Creative above The Clinging
Open fellowship in the open: union built on a shared purpose rather than a shared clique.
communityshared purposeopennesscooperationclarity
The meaning of Hexagram 13
Fire below, heaven above: flame rising toward the sky it belongs to. Fellowship describes people joining around something larger than any of them, in the open, without secret factions. The tradition's judgement favours it strongly, including for large undertakings, and it adds the condition: the fellowship must be led by someone principled and it must be public. The reading asks what unites the people involved. If it is a genuine common cause, the union has great strength; if it is a private interest dressed up as a cause, the later lines show what happens.
The image. Heaven with fire; the wise person organises the clans and distinguishes things.
- Advice
- Join around a real common purpose, in the open, under principled leadership.
- Warning
- Fellowship that shrinks into a clique, or hides part of itself, loses the strength that made it.
over
Structure: ☲ The Clinging (Fire) below, ☰ The Creative (Heaven) above. Nuclear hexagram 44, Coming to Meet. Every line reversed: 7, The Army.
Hexagram 13 for love and relationships
Partnership founded on shared values and conducted openly. Secrets and private alliances, with friends or family, are the risk the hexagram names. Be together in the open and for the same reasons.
Hexagram 13 for career
A team, collaboration or public venture with a clear common goal. The reading supports it, and supports crossing the great water, meaning a large undertaking. Keep it transparent and keep factions out.
Hexagram 13 for money
Shared enterprise works when the purpose is shared and the terms are open. Beware of arrangements that benefit an inner circle at the expense of the whole; they break.
Hexagram 13 for decisions
Decide with the group, in the open, for a purpose everyone can name. The option that requires a private deal or a hidden side is the one to reject.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
Fellowship in the meadow. No regret.
Union at the outer edge, among people who happen to be near rather than those who share a deep purpose. It is friendly and shallow and there is nothing wrong with it. Not every fellowship needs to be profound.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 49, Revolution. Read line 6 →
Fellowship: first weeping and lamenting, then laughter. After great struggles they meet.
Two people who belong together are separated by obstacles and, after real difficulty, reunited. The line honours a bond that survives separation. The tears are real and so is the laughter.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 30, The Clinging. Read line 5 →
Climbing the wall, unable to attack. Good fortune.
A quarrel that stops short of open conflict because the person sees it would be wrong. The wall is climbed and not crossed. The line credits the restraint; the fellowship can be repaired from here.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 37, The Family. Read line 4 →
Weapons hidden in the thicket; climbing the high hill. For three years, no rising.
Distrust has entered. Someone is hiding their intentions, watching from a height, planning against a partner. The line describes a stalled, suspicious fellowship that cannot move for a long time.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 25, Innocence. Read line 3 →
Fellowship within the clan. Humiliation.
The union has contracted into a faction: family, friends, the familiar few. What was open has become exclusive, and the tradition calls the result humiliating. Widen the circle.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 1, The Creative. Read line 2 →
Fellowship at the gate. No blame.
Union at the threshold, before any inner circle has formed. Everyone is on the same footing and nothing is hidden. The line approves of beginnings kept open like this.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 33, Retreat. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 13 mean?
- Open fellowship in the open: union built on a shared purpose rather than a shared clique. Fire below, heaven above: flame rising toward the sky it belongs to. Fellowship describes people joining around something larger than any of them, in the open, without secret factions. The tradition's judgement favours it strongly, including for large undertakings, and it adds the condition: the fellowship must be led by someone principled and it must be public. The reading asks what unites the people involved. If it is a genuine common cause, the union has great strength; if it is a private interest dressed up as a cause, the later lines show what happens.
- What does Hexagram 13 mean for love?
- Partnership founded on shared values and conducted openly. Secrets and private alliances, with friends or family, are the risk the hexagram names. Be together in the open and for the same reasons.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 13 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 33, Retreat; line 2 gives Hexagram 1, The Creative; line 3 gives Hexagram 25, Innocence; line 4 gives Hexagram 37, The Family; line 5 gives Hexagram 30, The Clinging; line 6 gives Hexagram 49, Revolution. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 7, The Army.