Hexagram 54 of 64
归妹 guī mèi
The Marrying Maiden
震 (zhèn, Thunder) above · 兑 (duì, Lake) below
The Judgment 卦辞
You are entering a situation on unequal terms — taking the lesser place in another’s house. Nothing ruinous if you accept it knowingly; trouble if you pretend it is otherwise.
The Image 大象
Thunder in the lake: the marrying maiden. The wise person holds transitory things lightly.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 归妹 has its own classical text. If a line in your cast is changing, its text is the heart of your reading.
Line 1 · 初九
Married as the younger sister-concubine — lame, yet able to walk. Going forward humbly: good fortune.
「归妹以娣，跛能履，征吉」
Line 2 · 九二
One-eyed, yet seeing. The quiet outsider's steadiness is what serves.
「眇能视，利幽人之贞」
Line 3 · 六三
Married as a waiting woman, then returning as the lesser. Rank slips — accept the lower place.
「归妹以须，反归以娣」
Line 4 · 九四
The marriage delayed past its date. Late — but late has its own season.
「归妹愆期，迟归有时」
Line 5 · 六五
The emperor's daughter marries — her sleeves plainer than her maid's. Near-full moon: modesty in high places, good fortune.
「帝乙归妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良，月几望，吉」
Line 6 · 上六
The basket held up holds nothing; the sacrifice yields no blood. The form without the substance — nothing comes of it.
「女承筐无实，士刲羊无血，无攸利」
If you drew this in a reading
A demanding pattern. This is one of the demanding patterns. It does not say "doom" — it says "the way through is narrow." Slow down, protect what matters, refuse shortcuts, and let the hexagram teach you the specific discipline it describes.
In yes/no questions this hexagram leans no — the pattern counsels holding back.
The trigrams give the flavor: 震 (Thunder) above — arousing shock — movement, initiative, sudden change — over 兑 (Lake) below — joyous openness — exchange, persuasion, pleasure shared. Where those two energies meet, 归妹 is born.
Ask Bu Gua — cast the coins for your question →