Hexagram 44
天风姤
Coming to Meet
Hexagram 44, Gou (Coming to Meet), is Wind beneath Heaven - the wind sweeping through the world, touching everything it meets.
Upper Trigram
☰
乾 (金)
Lower Trigram
☴
巽 (木)
Palace
乾 Palace
Shi / Ying Lines
Shi: Line 1 · Ying: Line 4
The 乾 trigram (金) sits above the 巽 trigram (木), forming 天风姤. This hexagram belongs to the 乾 Palace.
Judgment (卦辞)
Coming to Meet. The maiden is powerful. One should not marry such a maiden.
Judgment text follows the Wilhelm–Baynes translation (The I Ching or Book of Changes, Princeton University Press), quoted for commentary.
Image (象辞)
Under heaven, wind: the image of Coming to Meet.
Line Texts (爻辞)
It must be checked with a bronze brake. (系于金柅)
There is a fish in the tank. No blame. (包有鱼)
No skin on his thighs, walking comes hard. (臀无肤)
No fish in the tank. This leads to misfortune. (包无鱼)
A melon covered with willow leaves. Hidden lines. (以杞包瓜)
He comes to meet with his horns. Humiliation. (姤其角)
Hexagram 44 in Love & Relationships
Relationships: Beware infatuation that arrives without foundation. Real bonds build slowly.
Hexagram 44 in Career & Decisions
Career: A sudden opportunity or flattering offer deserves scrutiny. What rises quickly may fall just as quickly.
Hexagram 44 as a yes / no answer
Leans no
The hexagram's core image counsels restraint — forcing now works against you.
The I Ching reads situations, not fixed outcomes — your reading can weigh the moving lines with this leaning.
In-Depth Analysis[+]
Hexagram 44, Gou (Coming to Meet), is Wind beneath Heaven - the wind sweeping through the world, touching everything it meets. Structurally it holds a single yin line at the base rising to meet five yang lines above: an unexpected, powerful force entering a field of established strength. The judgment warns 'the maiden is powerful; one should not marry such a maiden' - not a judgment against women, but against forming alliances with anything whose rise is sudden and seductive. The lines trace how this meeting unfolds, from checking it with a bronze brake to meeting with horns in humiliation. Gou teaches that not every encounter should be embraced; discernment must precede attraction.
Historical Stories[+]
The legend of King Zhou of Shang's downfall began with a single seductive favorite, Daji, whose sudden rise corrupted the entire court - a yin force meeting yang strength with destructive consequence.
The Trojan Horse: a gift that entered Troy's walls as an innocent offering, then rose from within to destroy the city - the dangerous 'coming to meet' that the wise should have refused.
Practical Applications[+]
Career: A sudden opportunity or flattering offer deserves scrutiny. What rises quickly may fall just as quickly.
Relationships: Beware infatuation that arrives without foundation. Real bonds build slowly.
Personal Growth: Notice what new influence has just entered your life. Greet it with discernment, not reflex.
Classical Sources for Hexagram 44
增删卜易 (Adding and Removing — A Divination Primer)清 (Qing Dynasty, 1644–1912)
The core case-study methodology, the Six-Relation classification system, and the framework for analyzing changing lines (Dong Yao).
Related Hexagrams
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