Hexagram 61
风泽中孚
Inner Truth
Hexagram 61, Zhong Fu (Inner Truth), is Wind over Lake - wind moving across the water, its invisible force stirring the surface.
Upper Trigram
☴
巽 (木)
Lower Trigram
☱
兑 (金)
Palace
艮 Palace
Shi / Ying Lines
Shi: Line 4 · Ying: Line 1
The 巽 trigram (木) sits above the 兑 trigram (金), forming 风泽中孚. This hexagram belongs to the 艮 Palace.
Judgment (卦辞)
Inner Truth. Pigs and fishes. Good fortune.
Judgment text follows the Wilhelm–Baynes translation (The I Ching or Book of Changes, Princeton University Press), quoted for commentary.
Image (象辞)
Wind over lake: the image of Inner Truth.
Line Texts (爻辞)
Being prepared brings good fortune. (虞吉)
A crane calling in the shade. Its young answers. (鸣鹤在阴)
He finds a comrade. Now beats drum, now stops. (得敌)
The moon nearly at the full. The team horse goes astray. (月几望)
He possesses truth, which links together. (有孚挛如)
Cockcrow penetrating to heaven. Perseverance brings misfortune. (翰音登于天)
Hexagram 61 in Love & Relationships
Relationships: What you truly are speaks louder than what you say. Be sincere, and the other will feel it.
Hexagram 61 in Career & Decisions
Career: Authenticity is your deepest asset. Inner truth persuades where polished words fail.
Hexagram 61 as a yes / no answer
Leans yes
The hexagram's core image favors moving forward — conditions support the asking.
The I Ching reads situations, not fixed outcomes — your reading can weigh the moving lines with this leaning.
In-Depth Analysis[+]
Hexagram 61, Zhong Fu (Inner Truth), is Wind over Lake - wind moving across the water, its invisible force stirring the surface. This is the hexagram of sincerity, of the truth that dwells within and communicates without. The judgment: 'pigs and fishes. Good fortune' - even the dullest creatures are moved by genuine inner truth. The lines trace sincerity's reach: the crane calling in the shade whose young answers, the comrade found, the cockcrow that tries to penetrate heaven but fails. Zhong Fu teaches that the deepest influence is not what we say but what we truly are - inner truth resonates where mere words cannot.
Historical Stories[+]
The crane calling in the shade, its young answering unseen - the resonance of sincerity that needs no display.
A leader whose quiet integrity commands more loyalty than any amount of rhetoric - truth felt before it is spoken.
Practical Applications[+]
Career: Authenticity is your deepest asset. Inner truth persuades where polished words fail.
Relationships: What you truly are speaks louder than what you say. Be sincere, and the other will feel it.
Personal Growth: Align your inner truth with your outer life. The gap between them is where unease lives.
Classical Sources for Hexagram 61
火珠林 (The Fire Pearl Forest)宋 (Song Dynasty, 960–1279) — disputed
The foundational Najia framework for mapping Stems, Branches, Six Relations, and Six Animals to each hexagram line.
Related Hexagrams
Learn More
Wonder how Hexagram 61 applies to your situation?
Ask the I Ching about Hexagram 61