Hexagram 45 of 64
Gathering
萃 Cuì
Upper trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
The judgment
王假有廟，利見大人，亨。利貞。用大牲吉，利有攸往。
The king comes to his ancestral temple. It is fitting to see the great person. Success. It is fitting to hold firm. Using a large sacrificial animal brings good fortune. It is fitting to have somewhere to go.
The Great Image
澤上於地，萃；君子以除戎器，戒不虞。
The lake is above the earth: Gathering. In the same way, the noble person clears and readies weapons and guards against the unexpected.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
有孚不終，乃亂乃萃，若號，一握為笑，勿恤，往无咎。
There is trust, not carried through. Then disorder, then gathering. If you cry out, one handclasp brings laughter. Do not worry. Going, no blame.
A crowd can fall apart and regroup, and one handclasp can turn a cry to laughter. If a group has lost its footing, ask what small sign of welcome could start to bring it back.
Line 2 六二
引吉，无咎，孚乃利用禴。
Being drawn along brings good fortune. No blame. With trust, it is fitting to make the simple seasonal offering.
Being led along and bringing a modest offering is enough here. If someone is drawing you into a group, consider whether a small sincere contribution could be the right way in.
Line 3 六三
萃如，嗟如，无攸利，往无咎，小吝。
Gathering and sighing. Nothing is favorable. Going, no blame. A little shame.
Gathering and sighing go together in this line, and there is a small shame in going anyway. If you feel left out of a circle, consider approaching it even at some cost to your pride.
Line 4 九四
大吉，无咎。
Great good fortune. No blame.
This line says only great good fortune and no blame. If a gathering is going well around you, ask what part you are playing and whether you would want to play the same part in a harder season.
Line 5 九五
萃有位，无咎。匪孚，元永貞，悔亡。
Gathering while holding a position. No blame. There is no trust. Holding firm in a supreme and lasting way, regret goes.
The position is secure and trust is missing. If you have authority over a group, ask what you could do over time to earn the confidence a title does not provide.
Line 6 上六
齎資涕洟，无咎。
Carrying goods, in tears and with a running nose. No blame.
Someone at the top leaves with goods in hand, in tears and with a running nose. Consider whether grief at being outside a group is something you could let yourself show, and who could hear it.
What this hexagram says
Earth below, lake above: water has collected in one place on the land. It stands for people coming together around a shared center.
The judgment pictures a king at his ancestral temple with a large offering. Crowds need a center and something they hold in common. Ask what actually holds your group together, and what you could put toward it.
If your question is about a community, a family event or a team coming together, tradition reads this as a time to show up and contribute. The image adds a caution that crowds bring risk, so it is worth planning for the unexpected. The lines speak of people left out and of leaders who have a title without trust.
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/萃), 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 judgment, Project Gutenberg (B) opens with an extra 亨 (success) before 王假有廟. Wikisource (A) does not have it there.
- In the top line, Wikisource (A) reads 齎資 (carrying goods) and notes that another text has 咨. Project Gutenberg (B) reads 齎咨 (a sighing lament). B also writes 無 where A has 无, variant forms of the same word.
- In the Great Image, Wikisource (A) has 澤上於地 on its 周易/大象 page, used as the base here, and 澤上于地 on its page for this hexagram. 於 and 于 are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.