Hexagram 59 of 64
Dispersal
渙 Huàn
Upper trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
Lower trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
The judgment
亨，王假有廟，利涉大川，利貞。
Success. The king arrives at the temple. It is fitting to cross the great river. It is fitting to hold firm.
The Great Image
風行水上，渙；先王以享于帝立廟。
Wind moves over water: this is Dispersal. In the same way, the former kings made offerings to the high god and set up temples.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
用拯馬壯，吉，悔亡。
Using a strong horse for rescue. Good fortune. Regret goes.
A strong horse is what the rescue needs in this line. Ask what solid means of help you could bring early, before the scattering has gone far.
Line 2 九二
渙奔其机，悔亡。
In the scattering, hurrying to the low bench. Regret goes.
A low bench to lean on is a small thing to run to when everything disperses. Ask what ordinary support steadies you when your plans have come apart.
Line 3 六三
渙其躬，无悔。
Dispersing one's own self. No regret.
The scattering here is of the self and its fixed concerns. Consider which of your personal worries could be let go for the sake of the work in hand.
Line 4 六四
渙其群，元吉。渙有丘，匪夷所思。
Dispersing the group. Supreme good fortune. In the dispersing there is a hill. It is beyond what ordinary thought would reach.
A crowd is broken up here and a hill forms from what is scattered. Ask whether loosening an old circle of allies could make room for a larger gathering you have not thought of.
Line 5 九五
渙汗其大號，渙王居，无咎。
Dispersing like sweat, the great proclamation. Dispersing the king's dwelling. No blame.
A command goes out like sweat from the skin and cannot be taken back. Consider what you are about to announce, and what you would give up of your own to make it count.
Line 6 上九
渙其血，去逖出，无咎。
Dispersing the blood. Going away, keeping far off, getting out. No blame.
Blood here suggests harm already done, and the line has someone moving well away from it. Ask where distance from an old hurt or quarrel might be the wise thing.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is water below and wind above. Wind passes over the surface and breaks it into ripples and spray. It stands for scattering, which can mean things falling apart or the loosening of something that had set hard.
The judgment sends the king to the temple and then calls it fitting to cross the great river. The old rulers answered division with a shared rite and a place where people could gather again. Ask what could bring the people around you together around something larger than the current dispute.
If your question is about a divided team, a family that has drifted or a stuck situation, tradition reads this as a time to dissolve what keeps people apart. The lines suggest letting go of private interest and factions. The top line is a caution to move clear of harm while you can.
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/渙), 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 line 初六, Wikisource (A) reads 用拯馬壯，吉，悔亡。 and ends with regret goes. Project Gutenberg (B) reads 用拯馬壯，吉。 and omits 悔亡.
- In line 九二, Wikisource (A) reads 渙奔其机, with 机 (a low bench or armrest). Project Gutenberg (B) reads 渙奔其機, with 機 (a mechanism or a critical moment).
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.