Hexagram 45 changing to 31: Gathering Together to Influence

Where it starts: 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.

Where it goes: 31 Influence

Mutual attraction: influence that works because it is felt, not forced, and the courtship that follows. Mountain below, lake above: the still mountain with the lake resting on its summit, the strong below the gentle, the two drawn together. Influence is the hexagram of attraction between people, and its structure is the whole argument: the strong yields its place, the gentle is above, and the two are joined by feeling that neither commands. The tradition's judgement is that success comes with persistence and that to take a wife brings good fortune. The reading says an attraction is real and mutual, and its lines trace the difference between influence that arises in the heart and influence that is merely restless movement in the toes, the calves, the tongue.

The lines that move

1. Line 3

   Gathering together amid sighs. Nothing that would further. Going is without blame. Slight humiliation.

   Wanting to belong and finding no way in; the group has formed and you are outside it. The line's counsel is to attach yourself to someone at the centre, accepting the slight humiliation of asking. Better that than sighing at the edge. If you are outside the circle, ask someone inside; a little humility gets you in.

What is changing. The situation of Gathering Together is moving toward Influence. Gather around a worthy centre, bring a real offering, and be ready for what a gathering stirs up. As the change completes: Be receptive; let influence arise from real feeling rather than from pressure or talk.

love and relationships

Now: 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. Then: The reading for love itself: genuine mutual attraction. Let it work at its own pace. The lines warn against pushing with the body before the heart has spoken, and against influencing by talk. Receptivity is what draws the other person.

career

Now: 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. Then: Influence that comes from openness rather than pressure. People approach a person who is receptive. Persuade by listening. The reading favours partnerships and alliances that form naturally.

money

Now: 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. Then: Attraction of the right people and opportunities through openness and good faith. Not the time to push a deal; the time to be approachable and let it come. Beware of influence exercised through mere talk.

decisions

Now: 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. Then: Decide by what you feel drawn to, once you have distinguished the deep pull from the restless one. The reading supports commitment where the attraction is mutual and calm.