Hexagram 31, Xián (Influence): Line 1

咸卦初六 · 泽山咸 · 中文版

初六:咸其拇。

The line (Legge)

The first six, divided, shows one moving his great toes.

Small Image commentary

'He moves his great toe:' - his mind is set on what is beyond (himself).

象曰:咸其拇,志在外也。

In plain words

Feeling in the big toe. This hexagram uses the body to show feeling moving from shallow to deep; the first line is at the bottom, where feeling is faint, only a wish to move. The Small Image says its aim is outward.

Applying it to your situation

If you have only just been drawn to someone or something, this line suggests the feeling has just begun and there is no need to act yet. Is this attraction real?

Position

A broken (yin) line in the first place, which is a yang (odd) place, so it is not in its proper place. Its partner is line 4; one is yin and the other yang, so they respond to each other.

If this line moves

With this line moving alone, Xián changes into Hexagram 49 Gé (Revolution). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·咸之革.

The hexagram

Hexagram 31 Xián (Influence). The Judgment: Xian indicates that, (on the fulfilment of the conditions implied in it), there will be free course and success. Its advantageousness will depend on the being firm and correct, (as) in marrying a young lady. There will be good fortune.

Next: Line 2

English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction. Plain-English readings and position notes by this site.

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