54. The Marrying Maiden
Judgment
The Marrying Maiden — undertaking something brings misfortune. Nothing that would further. Rash commitments lead to regret.
Image
Thunder over the lake — the superior person recognizes the end and the beginning.
Changing Lines
The marrying maiden as concubine — limping, yet able to tread. Forward movement carries advantage.
A one-eyed person can see — favorable for a hermit's persistence. Partial ability.
The marrying maiden as a sister — marrying below one's station. Lack of proper alignment.
The marrying maiden delays — a later union brings good fortune. Patience over haste.
The ruler gave his daughter in marriage — the embroidered garments of the princess are not as fine as those of the concubine. The moon nearly full brings good fortune.
The woman holds the basket — no fruit. The man stabs the sheep — no blood. Nothing achieved.
Reading The Marrying Maiden today
When The Marrying Maiden (歸妹) 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 joyous lake sits beneath the upper arousing thunder, pairing openness, conversation, shared pleasure with shock, awakening, sudden movement. 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 — marrying_maiden, union, mismatch — 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 The Marrying Maiden 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 The Marrying Maiden as a live reading in Hexora →