17. Following
Judgment
Following brings supreme success. Firm correctness is rewarded; no fault. To follow is to adjust to the demands of the time — neither leading blindly nor trailing helplessly.
Image
Thunder within the lake — the superior person follows the rhythms of day and night, resting at dusk.
Changing Lines
Following outside the gate — interactions and connections change direction. Stay flexible.
Following the leader — losing the young through clinging. Persist halfway brings loss.
Following the leader — losing oneself. What one seeks is within; follow your true path.
Following with success — caught on a hook. Sincerity attracts sincere followers.
Sincerity toward the good — good fortune. Trust in what is right brings reward.
Bound to following — captivity, yet no blame. Yet no lasting gain from following blindly.
Reading Following today
When Following (隨) appears in a modern casting, it's rarely about ancient kings or dragons in any literal sense. The hexagram speaks in metaphor about a shape your situation is taking right now. The lower arousing thunder sits beneath the upper joyous lake, pairing shock, awakening, sudden movement with openness, conversation, shared pleasure. Read this as the inside meeting the outside: how you carry yourself underneath versus how the situation arrives on top.
The hexagram's recurring themes — following, adaptation, flexibility — usually surface in real life around decisions where the question is less "what should I do" and more "what does this moment actually want from me." Read the Legge judgment above slowly, then sit with the changing lines if any showed up in your cast: the lines are where the hexagram's advice becomes specific to your question, not the situation in general.
Questions Following answers well
- What does this hexagram say about my current situation?
- Should I act, wait, or step back from this?
- Where is the real change happening underneath the surface?
- Who or what is this hexagram pointing me toward?
Curious how this would read against your own question? Cast Following as a live reading in Hexora →