Hexagram 8
Holding Together
Water over Earth
The judgment
吉。原筮元永贞，无咎。不宁方来，后夫凶Gathering is the right move, and late arrivals find the circle closed. Check the ground before you step in.
The image
Water lies over the earth and fills the low places first. Belonging follows the shape of the ground.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line that moves is read here, and read again in the hexagram it becomes.
- 初六Line 1
有孚，比之，无咎。有孚盈缶，终来有它，吉
Draw close with something real held inside; the first step goes without fault. Sincerity fills the vessel to the brim, with no demand for an answer now; later, others from elsewhere find their way to you.
Marked in the textno blameauspicious
- 六二Line 2
比之自内，贞吉
Drawing close from within needs no announcement; hold your own measure and time will show it.
Marked in the textauspicious
- 六三Line 3
比之匪人
You are attaching to the wrong party; the harder you press, the deeper you sink, so stepping back costs less.
- 六四Line 4
外比之，贞吉
Standing near the one in charge draws eyes; move lightly and stay inside your remit to avoid looking like overreach.
Marked in the textauspicious
- 九五Line 5
显比。王用三驱，失前禽，邑人不诫，吉
The bond is put in plain view. The king hunts by driving from three sides only, letting the game ahead slip away without pursuit; the people of the town need no reminding one by one, and settle of themselves.
Marked in the textauspicious
- 上六Line 6
比之无首，凶
Coming to gather only at the very end, the lead position is already vacant and the scattered crowd cannot be pulled back.
Marked in the textominous
Where each changing line leads
Flip one line and it is a different hexagram. These are the six it becomes.
This page is for reference. To get a hexagram from six throws, cast your own.
The classical text is the Zhouyi, public domain, checked against a Wikisource transcript. The readings are ours. Daily hexagram