Hexagram 37 of 64
The Family
家人 Jiā Rén
Upper trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
Lower trigram: 離 Lí, fire
The judgment
利女貞。
It is fitting for a woman to hold firm.
The Great Image
風自火出，家人；君子以言有物，而行有恒。
Wind issues from the fire: The Family. In the same way, the noble person's words have something in them and the noble person's conduct does not waver.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
閑有家，悔亡。
Setting boundaries in the household. Regret goes.
A household runs more easily with its limits agreed at the start. Consider what boundaries at home are worth setting early, before anyone has been hurt by their absence.
Line 2 六二
无攸遂，在中饋，貞吉。
Nothing to pursue. In charge of the meals within. Holding firm brings good fortune.
The old text places someone at the cooking with nothing else to pursue, a role its period assigned to women. You could take from it the value of whoever keeps daily meals and routines going, and ask whether that work around you is shared fairly.
Line 3 九三
家人嗃嗃，悔厲吉；婦子嘻嘻，終吝。
The household members shout sternly. Regret, danger, good fortune. Wives and children giggle, and in the end there is shame.
The old text weighs a severe home against a giddy one and leans toward the severe. You may ask whether you could keep standards at home without harshness, since shouting has a cost of its own.
Line 4 六四
富家，大吉。
Enriching the family. Great good fortune.
A rich family here is one where good things have come into the house. Consider what would really enrich your household, which may include time and attention.
Line 5 九五
王假有家，勿恤。吉。
The king comes to his household. Do not worry. Good fortune.
The king arrives in his own household and the line says there is no need to worry. Ask whether you show up at home with the same care you give to your public role.
Line 6 上九
有孚威如，終吉。
There is trust and dignity. In the end, good fortune.
Trust and a certain dignity sit together in this line. Consider whether people close to you can rely on you and also take you seriously.
What this hexagram says
Fire below, wind above: the warmth of a hearth with the air that moves out from it. It stands for how a household is ordered and how that order reaches beyond the front door.
The judgment says it is fitting for a woman to hold firm, a line from a society in which the home was assigned to women. The image widens this to everyone: speech should have something in it and conduct should be steady. Ask where your words and your habits at home match and where they do not.
If your question is about family, a shared home or a small team, tradition reads this as a time to look at roles and routines. The lines set limits early and weigh harshness against laxity. Consider who carries which load and whether that has been agreed.
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/家人), 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.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.