Hexagram 44 for decisions: Coming to Meet

姤 Gòu · A decision

Recognise the meeting for what it is before you decide. The reading is against binding commitments to an influence that has just appeared and looks small. Set conditions; do not marry the maiden.

Wind below, heaven above: wind moving under the sky, reaching into everything. One yielding line has entered at the bottom, the reverse of Breakthrough. Coming to Meet describes an encounter with something that seems harmless and is not: an influence, a person, a temptation, a small beginning of a large change. The tradition's judgement is blunt: the maiden is powerful, one should not marry such a maiden. The image is gentler: the prince issues commands and proclaims them to the four quarters. The reading asks for alertness at the point of meeting: what is arriving is small now and will not stay small, and the right response is to see it clearly and to set terms at once.

Advice: See the encounter clearly at the start, set terms at once, and do not bind yourself to what will grow.
Warning: What is dismissed as small at the moment of meeting is what governs the situation later.

The changing lines, read for decisions

If your cast of Hexagram 44 had changing lines, these are what each one adds to a decision question, and where each leads.

Line 1 · changes into 1 The Creative
It must be checked with a brake of bronze. Persistence brings good fortune. If one lets it run, misfortune. A lean pig thrashes about. Check it at the very start, firmly; later is too late.
Line 2 · changes into 33 Retreat
There is a fish in the tank. No blame. Does not further guests. Contain the influence; do not let it reach anyone else.
Line 3 · changes into 6 Conflict
No skin on the thighs, walking is hard. If one is mindful of the danger, no great mistake is made. You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake.
Line 4 · changes into 57 The Gentle
No fish in the tank. This leads to misfortune. You have neglected what you should have handled; the loss follows.
Line 5 · changes into 50 The Cauldron
A melon covered with willow leaves. Hidden lines. Then it drops down from heaven. Protect and nurture quietly; what you shelter ripens on its own.
Line 6 · changes into 28 Great Excess
He comes to meet with his horns. Humiliation. No blame. If you meet the world with horns, expect to be found difficult; it is not wrong, only lonely.

Hexagram 44 in full Love & relationships Career Money

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