Hexagram 38
Opposition
睽 · 규
Fire over Lake
The Judgment
Opposition arises when those who share a world move according to different inclinations. Agreement cannot now be demanded in large matters, yet modest undertakings may succeed through patience, discrimination, and courtesy. Difference need not become enmity. Preserve what is right without expecting others to mirror your understanding. By attending to small points of contact and refusing needless contention, one keeps open the possibility that divided purposes may eventually serve a larger harmony.
The Image
Fire rises while the lake's waters settle below: their movements diverge even while they form one figure. Thus the noble one lives among others without surrendering an independent character. Fellowship does not require confusion of principles; a clear distinction may preserve the very relationship that forced agreement would destroy.
In the light of the Dao
The ten thousand beings differ without falling outside the Way. Opposition becomes painful when the mind insists that one shape must govern all things. Allow contrary movements their space. Through unforced attention, discover the quiet belonging that precedes agreement and does not depend upon it.
The two trigrams
Upper · outer
☲Fire
Clinging, clarity · Middle daughter
Lower · inner
☱Lake
Joyous, open · Youngest daughter
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line speaks only when it moves — when the cast gives it as 6 or 9.
First line · the beginning · yang, nine
Regret passes when you stop pursuing what has temporarily strayed. Like a horse finding its own way home, the lost connection can return. Even contact with an unpleasant person may be prudent, if courtesy prevents hostility without compromising your character.
Second line · the inner centre · yang, nine
You encounter the one with whom you have a rightful bond in an ordinary, narrow passage. Formal approaches have failed, but an unplanned meeting makes understanding possible. Accept this modest opening; the circumstances are unconventional, yet no fault attaches to the encounter.
Third line · the threshold · yin, six
Your vehicle is impeded, its team checked, and you suffer humiliating treatment. Opposition seems to obstruct every movement and cast suspicion upon your purpose. Though the beginning is painful and confused, the bond that truly belongs to you can finally be restored.
Fourth line · the minister · yang, nine
Standing apart amid opposition, you meet someone whose disposition answers your own. Mutual sincerity creates a trustworthy alliance where isolation had seemed complete. Danger has not vanished, but the relationship is sound; proceed with awareness rather than surrendering to suspicion.
Fifth line · the ruler · yin, six
Regret disappears as a close relation penetrates the barrier between you with surprising ease, as teeth pass through a tender covering. What seemed resistant can yield to genuine kinship. Go forward to meet this person; renewed association need bring no blame.
Top line · the end · yang, nine
Isolation distorts your sight: another appears filthy, threatening, and surrounded by sinister signs. You prepare to resist, then discover a prospective ally rather than an enemy. Lay down suspicion when evidence changes; reconciliation comes like rain, clearing the air and bringing good fortune.