Hexagram 17 for work
Hexagram 17 Following Along for work and career
At work Sui describes a time of adapting: the Tuan praises 'following the time' and the Great Image shows the superior person going in to rest when evening comes rather than pressing on. A project, a team or a negotiation under this sign goes well when one follows what is sound — a good leader, a good plan, the current of events — and badly when one follows out of habit or proximity. The judgment's success is tied to steadiness; the lines sort out the ways of following, from the fresh start of line one, which changes its post and goes out to find allies, to line four, the deputy whose own following makes the boss uneasy.
The stance it recommends is flexible loyalty: adjust to circumstances without bargaining away your principles, and if you lead, be worth following by following what is excellent yourself (line five). A changing line in the lower trigram is about choosing whom to attach to; one in the upper trigram is about the obligations that come with being followed.
The hexagram in brief
Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
Adapt to circumstances and good leadership without losing your principles; followers and the followed both need sincerity.
The judgment
隨：元亨利貞，无咎。Sui indicates that (under its conditions) there will be great progress and success. But it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. There will (then) be no error.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 隨 Following Along has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginninga change of post · stay correct · beyond the gate
- 六二Six in the second placethe near one · losing the better · cannot have both
- 六三Six in the third placethe grown man · letting go · gain with restraint
- 九四Nine in the fourth placefollowers gained · suspicion · sincerity on the way
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe ruler · trust in the good · central and correct
- 上六Six at the topbound fast · following exhausted · the western mountain
The same hexagram for
Questions
- What does hexagram 17, Following Along, mean for a career question?
- At work Sui describes a time of adapting: the Tuan praises 'following the time' and the Great Image shows the superior person going in to rest when evening comes rather than pressing on. A project, a team or a negotiation under this sign goes well when one follows what is sound — a good leader, a good plan, the current of events — and badly when one follows out of habit or proximity. The judgment's success is tied to steadiness; the lines sort out the ways of following, from the fresh start of line one, which changes its post and goes out to find allies, to line four, the deputy whose own following makes the boss uneasy.
- What does Hexagram 17, 隨 Following Along, mean?
- Thunder resting in the lake: following the time, taking rest in the evening. Supreme success in following what is right — and in being worth following.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).