Kui 火澤睽
A time when things pull apart
You are looking in different directions. Rather than trying to understand, accept the difference and it gets easier.
What does I Ching hexagram 38 (Opposition) mean?
Fire and lake turning away from each other: estrangement. Even if your aims differ, finding harmony in small things is lucky.
- Opposition in love
- Opinions drift apart easily, so look for small common ground first.
- Opposition at work and with money
- Big matters are hard; small ones succeed.
- Advice
- Accept differences and find the point of contact.
The judgment and the image
Judgment · Opposition
Auspicious“In small matters, good fortune.”
The Image: Fire above, lake below: opposition. The noble person is the same in principle but differs in particulars.
原文 · 小事吉。 / 上火下澤，睽；君子以同而異。
The six lines of hexagram 38
Lines are read from the bottom up. When you cast a reading and a line is changing, its statement becomes the key message.
Line 1 · 初九
Auspicious“Regret vanishes. Losing a horse, don’t chase it; it will come back by itself. Meeting a bad person is no blame.”
Don’t chase what’s drifted away. It returns on its own. Meet difficult people calmly.
原文 · 悔亡，喪馬勿逐，自復；見惡人无咎。
Line 2 · 九二
No blame“Meeting the master in a lane; no blame.”
A casual, unplanned meeting works out. Don’t be too formal.
原文 · 遇主于巷，无咎。
Line 3 · 六三
Neutral“Seeing the cart dragged back, the ox held up, the man’s hair and nose cut off: no beginning but an end.”
It starts terribly, but ends well. Hold on.
原文 · 見輿曳，其牛𧤊，其人天且劓，无初有終。
Line 4 · 九四
No blame“Alone in opposition, meeting a strong man; with mutual trust, danger but no blame.”
You find an ally in isolation. Trust each other.
原文 · 睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厲无咎。
Line 5 · 六五
Caution“Regret vanishes. His kin bite through the skin; going forward, what blame?”
Those close to you break through the barrier. Go ahead.
原文 · 悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往何咎。
Line 6 · 上九
Auspicious“Alone in opposition, seeing a pig covered in mud and a cartload of ghosts; first he draws the bow, then lets it go; not a robber but a suitor. Going and meeting rain brings good fortune.”
You imagine enemies that aren’t there. When you drop your suspicion, relief comes like rain.
原文 · 睽孤， 見豕負涂，載鬼一車， 先張之弧，後說之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨則吉。
Related hexagrams
- Opposite hexagram (every line flipped): 39. Jian (Obstruction)
- Reversed hexagram (turned upside down): 37. Jia Ren (The Family)
The classical text is in the public domain; the English translations and readings are our own, for reflection and entertainment.