Cast & Chart

Hexagram 8 of 64

Union

比 Bǐ

Upper trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water

Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth

The judgment

吉。原筮元永貞，无咎。不寧方來，後夫凶。

Good fortune. Cast again: supreme, lasting, holding firm. No blame. Those not at rest are now coming. The man who comes late meets misfortune.

The Great Image

地上有水，比；先王以建萬國，親諸侯。

There is water upon the earth: Union. In the same way, the former kings founded the ten thousand states and kept close ties with the lords.

The six lines

Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.

  1. Line 1 初六

    有孚，比之，无咎。有孚盈缶，終來有它，吉。

    There is trust. Join with them. No blame. Trust fills the earthen jar. In the end something further comes. Good fortune.

    The line fills a plain clay jar with trust, and more follows. Consider what honesty you could bring before you ask anything of a new group.

  2. Line 2 六二

    比之自內，貞吉。

    Joining with them from within. Holding firm brings good fortune.

    This joining comes from inside, from your own mind and circle. Ask whether you want this connection for its own sake, apart from what others expect.

  3. Line 3 六三

    比之匪人。

    Joining with the wrong people.

    The line is only four characters and gives no comfort: these are the wrong people to be close to. Ask honestly whether a group you have joined brings out the worst in you.

  4. Line 4 六四

    外比之，貞吉。

    Joining with them from outside. Holding firm brings good fortune.

    Here the joining reaches outward, beyond your own circle. Consider who outside your usual people you could openly stand with.

  5. Line 5 九五

    顯比。王用三敺，失前禽，邑人不誡，吉。

    Open union. The king hunts with a three-sided drive, and the game in front gets away. The townspeople need no warning. Good fortune.

    The king's hunt leaves one side open and lets the fleeing animals go. Ask whether you could keep your door open in a way that lets people leave freely.

  6. Line 6 上六

    比之无首，凶。

    Joining with them without a head. Misfortune.

    A union without a head has no one to begin it or end it. If you have joined something with no clear start or leader, ask what holds it together.

What this hexagram says

This hexagram is earth below and water above. Water lies on the ground and finds its way into every low place. It is about closeness, and who gathers around whom.

The judgment tells you to cast again and check whether your commitment is sound and lasting. It says those who are unsettled are coming in, and that the one who arrives too late meets misfortune. Ask what you would need to be sure of before you commit.

If your question is about joining a team, a community or a partnership, tradition reads this as a time to choose your company carefully and in good time. The lines caution against close ties with the wrong people and against a union that has no one to lead it.

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/比), 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 first line, Wikisource writes 它 and Project Gutenberg writes 他, both meaning other. Wikisource punctuates 有孚，比之，无咎。 and Project Gutenberg gives 有孚比之，無咎。
  • In the fifth line, Wikisource reads 三敺 and notes that it is also written 驅. Project Gutenberg reads 三驅. Both mean to drive game, and the punctuation of the line also differs slightly.
  • Project Gutenberg writes 無 where Wikisource has 无. These 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.