Hexagram 24 for love
Hexagram 24 Returning in love and relationships
Fu is thunder within the earth, the solstice: one strong line returning at the bottom after the stripping of Bo, and the judgment is warm — 'success; going out and coming in without harm; friends come, no blame; in seven days the return.' For a relationship it is the turning point after a low: a reconciliation, a partner coming back, a warmth that had gone quiet stirring again. The Tuan says the movement proceeds 'in accord with the natural course', which is the hexagram's one caution — the new growth is real but small, and cannot be hurried.
The lines are six ways of coming back. Early and without anything to forgive (line one); by staying close to the one who has already turned (line two); repeatedly, after repeated lapses (line three); alone, against the drift of others (line four); by honest self-examination (line five); and the one failure, the return that is missed and replaced by force (line six). The stance is to welcome the turn gently and to turn back early yourself when you stray.
The hexagram in brief
Thunder within the earth: the solstice, one yang line returning at the bottom. The turn has come — friends arrive, going out and coming in without harm, the way comes back in seven days.
Welcome the turning gently; don't force the new growth, and return to the right path early when you stray.
The judgment
復：亨。出入无疾，朋來无咎。反復其道，七日來復，利有攸往。Fû indicates that there will be free course and progress (in what it denotes). (The subject of it) finds no one to distress him in his exits and entrances; friends come to him, and no error is committed. He will return and repeat his (proper) course. In seven days comes his return. There will be advantage in whatever direction movement is made.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 復 Returning has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningreturn before going far · no regret · the ruler of Return
- 六二Six in the second placea fine return · yielding to the good · next to the yang
- 六三Six in the third placerepeated return · danger · no blame
- 六四Six in the fourth placereturning alone · midway among the many · following the way
- 六五Six in the fifth placeearnest return · self-examination · central
- 上六Six at the toplost return · calamity · against the ruler's way
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Is hexagram 24, Returning, a good sign for love?
- Fu is thunder within the earth, the solstice: one strong line returning at the bottom after the stripping of Bo, and the judgment is warm — 'success; going out and coming in without harm; friends come, no blame; in seven days the return.' For a relationship it is the turning point after a low: a reconciliation, a partner coming back, a warmth that had gone quiet stirring again. The Tuan says the movement proceeds 'in accord with the natural course', which is the hexagram's one caution — the new growth is real but small, and cannot be hurried.
- What does Hexagram 24, 復 Returning, mean?
- Thunder within the earth: the solstice, one yang line returning at the bottom. The turn has come — friends arrive, going out and coming in without harm, the way comes back in seven days.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).