Hexagram 31 of 64
咸
Influence
Xián
Upper Trigram
兌
Lake
Joyous, Open
Lake · Youngest Daughter
Lower Trigram
艮
Mountain
Keeping Still, Resting
Mountain · Youngest Son
The Judgment
Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.
The youngest daughter (Lake) attracts the youngest son (Mountain) — natural, gentle, mutual attraction. True influence works through openness and receptivity rather than force. This is the hexagram of courtship, of genuine mutual resonance.
The Image
A lake on the mountain — the image of Influence. Thus the superior person encourages people to approach them by their readiness to receive them.
The lake rests open atop the mountain, gathering all that comes to it without effort. The wise person cultivates this quality of receptive openness that draws people naturally.
The Six Lines
Line 1
The influence shows itself in the big toe.
The first stirring of attraction or impulse — still just a feeling, not yet an intention. Be aware of it but do not act yet.
Line 2
The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Tarrying brings good fortune.
Impulse moving toward action. Stop. Waiting before acting preserves the quality of the genuine impulse.
Line 3
The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.
The impulse is now strong and seeking to drag others along. Resist the compulsion to push. Let influence work more subtly.
Line 4
Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. If a man is agitated in mind, and his thoughts go hither and thither, only those friends on whom he fixes his conscious thoughts will follow.
Scattered, anxious influence affects nothing. Clear, centered focus reaches those truly ready to receive it.
Line 5
The influence shows itself in the back of the neck. No remorse.
Influence that arises from the deepest, most instinctive level of one's being — before thought, before intention — is without fault.
Line 6
The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.
Influence reduced to mere words and talk — the shallowest level. Speaking of what one does not embody moves no one.
For contemplation and self-reflection only. Not a substitute for professional advice.