Hexagram 45 · Gathering Together
Cui
Upper Lake (Dui) · Lower Earth (Kun)
Judgment
Gathering brings success. The king arrives at his ancestral temple. It is favorable to see the great person. There is success and it is favorable to be steadfast. Using a great sacrifice brings good fortune. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Lines
- First line (1): Six in the first place: If you have sincerity but do not carry it through, there will be confusion and gathering in disorder. If you cry out, one grasp turns to laughter. Do not worry. Going forward brings no blame.
- Second line (2): Six in the second place: Being led brings good fortune, without blame. With sincerity, it is favorable to offer a simple sacrifice.
- Third line (3): Six in the third place: Gathering leads to sighs. There is nothing that is favorable. Going forward brings no blame, but there is a small regret.
- Fourth line (4): Nine in the fourth place: Great good fortune, without blame.
- Fifth line (5): Nine in the fifth place: Gathering in a position of honor brings no blame, though not yet trusted. If you are enduring and correct from the beginning, regret disappears.
- Top line (6): Six at the top: Sighing and weeping, but no blame.
In Practice
Gathering Together shows a lake over the earth: waters collecting into one body. It is the hexagram of assembly, of people and resources drawn together around a common center. Its teaching is that gathering requires two things: a worthy center — a leader, a purpose, a place — and preparation, for a great gathering can turn suddenly to disorder. The image is of many streams finding the one lake. When the center is right and the preparation is made, the gathering is powerful; when the center is unworthy, the gathering becomes a mob.
In love
A relationship gathers — families meeting, communities forming, two lives becoming one shared world. The center must be worthy: shared values and genuine love, not convenience. And prepare for the gathering, for bringing many together needs care or it turns chaotic.
In career
People and resources are gathering around a project or a leader. Ask whether the center is worthy — is the purpose sound, the leadership just? And prepare carefully, for large gatherings need structure or they dissolve into disorder. The worthy center is what holds the many.
In money
Capital and opportunity are gathering — a syndicate, a fund, a shared venture. The key question is the worthiness of the center: who leads, and to what end? Gather only around a sound center, and prepare for the risks that come with many pooling resources.
Guidance
When many gather, look to the center: is it worthy, and are you prepared? A just purpose and careful preparation turn a crowd into a force. Gather around what deserves to be the center.
Watch out
An unworthy center turns a gathering into a mob, and an unprepared gathering turns order into chaos. Choose your center well, and prepare for what you draw together.
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