Hexagram 17 changing to 45: Following to Gathering Together

Where it starts: 17 Following

Following what is right, and being followed: influence that comes from adapting to the time. Thunder below, lake above: movement within joy, thunder resting in the lake in autumn. Following describes the art of adapting, of going with the time rather than against it, and of leading by being worth following. The tradition's judgement promises success with persistence, and the condition is that what is followed must be good. This is not passivity or drifting. It is the choice to serve something you believe in, to let others serve you only when you have earned it, and to rest when the season asks for rest.

Where it goes: 45 Gathering Together

The lake gathering on the earth: people assembling around a centre, with the resources to make the gathering matter. Earth below, lake above: water collecting on the land, a reservoir. Gathering Together describes assembly: people collecting around a leader or a cause, resources pooled, a community formed. The tradition's judgement is that the king approaches his temple, that it furthers to see the great person, that persistence and a great offering bring success. Gathering needs a centre worth gathering around, and it needs sacrifice, meaning that those who assemble must bring something. The image adds preparation: where people gather, unexpected things happen, and the wise person renews their weapons. The reading is favourable to assembly and asks who is at the centre and what is being brought.

The lines that move

1. Line 1

   The standard changes. Persistence brings good fortune. Going out of the door to mingle brings achievement.

   Circumstances shift and the old rule no longer fits. Adapt, keep your principles, and get out among people with different views; staying inside your own circle now would leave you behind. Adapt to the change and go out to meet people unlike yourself.

What is changing. The situation of Following is moving toward Gathering Together. Follow what is worth following, wholeheartedly, and adapt to the time. As the change completes: Gather around a worthy centre, bring a real offering, and be ready for what a gathering stirs up.

love and relationships

Now: Go along with the other person's rhythm for now, and choose carefully whom you follow. Devotion to someone worth it is strength; devotion to anyone who asks is the error the lines describe. Then: Coming together, or bringing people together around the relationship: family, friends, community. The reading favours it, and asks each person to bring a real offering. It warns that gatherings produce the unexpected; be ready.

career

Now: Adapt to the direction of the organisation or the leader, if the direction is sound. If you lead, you keep followers by being worth following, not by insisting. Rest when the day ends. Then: Building a team or a coalition around a sound centre. The reading supports it strongly and asks for two things: a leader worth following and a genuine contribution from everyone. Prepare for what a crowd stirs up.

money

Now: Follow the trend that is real rather than fighting it, and follow advice that is proven. The reading favours flexibility and warns against clinging to a position out of pride. Then: Pooled resources, a fund, a shared venture. Favourable when the centre is trustworthy and the contributions real. Keep reserves for the unforeseen; gatherings have surprises.

decisions

Now: Choose the option that adapts to the situation as it is. If it means following someone else's lead, do it wholeheartedly or not at all; half-following is the worst of both. Then: Decide to join or to convene, around a centre you have examined. Bring something to it. The reading supports assembly and asks for preparation against what it stirs.