Hexagram 17 of 64
Following
隨 Suí
Upper trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
Lower trigram: 震 Zhèn, thunder
The judgment
元亨。利貞。无咎。
Supreme success. It is fitting to hold firm. No blame.
The Great Image
澤中有雷，隨；君子以嚮晦入宴息。
Within the lake there is thunder: Following. In the same way, the noble person, as dusk comes on, goes in to rest and take ease.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
官有渝，貞吉。出門交有功。
The office has a change. Holding firm brings good fortune. Going out the gate to mix with others brings results.
The post has changed, and the line sends you out the gate to meet people. Consider who you could talk to beyond your usual office.
Line 2 六二
係小子，失丈夫。
Tied to the little boy, one loses the grown man.
Holding on to the small boy costs the grown man. Ask what minor attachment may be keeping you from a more serious one.
Line 3 六三
係丈夫，失小子。隨有求得，利居貞。
Tied to the grown man, one loses the little boy. In following, what is sought is gained. It is fitting to stay where you are and hold firm.
Here the choice goes the other way and the small is let go. Ask what you would be willing to give up for what you want most, and consider staying put once you have it.
Line 4 九四
隨有獲，貞凶。有孚在道，以明，何咎。
Following yields a catch. Holding firm brings misfortune. There is trust on the road. With clarity, what blame is there?
Following has caught something, and the line warns that keeping hold of it is dangerous. Ask whether what you have gained through someone else's trust is yours to keep.
Line 5 九五
孚于嘉，吉。
Trust in what is excellent. Good fortune.
Trust is placed here in what is excellent. Consider who has earned your confidence, and whether you have told them.
Line 6 上六
拘係之，乃從維之。王用亨于西山。
Seized and bound, then tied fast as they follow. The king makes offering on the western mountain.
The old text shows people seized and bound, and we would keep only the idea of a bond freely chosen. Ask what you would stay loyal to even if it cost you.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is thunder below and a lake above. Thunder rests inside the lake, as the day's force goes quiet at evening. It is about following, and about knowing when and whom to follow.
The judgment is all good words, supreme success and no blame, and it still asks you to hold firm. Following works only while it stays honest. Ask who or what you are following now, and why.
If your question is about a new direction or a change of leader, tradition reads this as a time to adapt and to rest when the day is done. The lines caution that every attachment you choose costs another, and that gain from following can be dangerous to keep.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/隨), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the top line, Wikisource writes 係 and Project Gutenberg writes 系. Both mean to tie.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.