I Ching · Hexagram 44 Coming to Meet
Hexagram 44 line 3: Coming to Meet, yang in the third place

I Ching 44.3
No skin on the thighs, walking is hard. If one is mindful of the danger, no great mistake is made.
Tempted, and unable to act on it; uncomfortable, restless, stuck. The line's saving grace is awareness: knowing the danger keeps the person from a serious error, even while they suffer the discomfort.
Advice. You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake.
What changes when line 3 moves
Line 3 of Hexagram 44 is yang, a solid line. When it is cast as old yang (a 9) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 6, Conflict: A dispute you are sincere in but cannot win outright: meet halfway, and take advice before going further.
Read together, the reading moves from Coming to Meet toward Conflict. One yin line entering beneath five yang: an encounter that looks small and must be met with clear judgement. Water below, heaven above: the two move in opposite directions and cannot meet. Conflict describes a disagreement that has hardened, where you may be in the right and still cannot carry it through by force. The primary hexagram describes the situation; the changing line is the point of movement in it; the resulting hexagram is where that movement leads. Both hexagrams belong to the reading, and the changing line is the hinge between them.
Line 3 in context
- Love & relationships
- You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake. In love and relationships, Hexagram 44 reads: An encounter, attractive and possibly unwise. The reading does not say refuse it; it says see it for what it is and do not bind yourself to something that will grow beyond your control. Set the terms at the start.
- Career
- You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake. In career, Hexagram 44 reads: A new influence, person or proposal entering, apparently minor. Treat it with full attention; the hexagram's lesson is that what enters small becomes decisive. Judge it now, clearly, and declare where you stand.
- Money
- You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake. In money, Hexagram 44 reads: A tempting opportunity that arrives unexpectedly. Do not commit on the strength of its appeal. The reading warns against being drawn into a coupling whose consequences you cannot yet see.
- A decision
- You are tempted and stuck; stay aware of the danger and you make no great mistake. In decisions, Hexagram 44 reads: 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.
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The topic is pre-selected. The hexagram is not: the coins decide it.
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