Hexagram 54, line 3
六三Line 3 of Marrying the Younger Sister
Six in the third place · 歸妹 guī mèi
爻辭 The line text
歸妹以須，反歸以娣。The third line, divided, shows the younger sister who was to be married off in a mean position. She returns and accepts an ancillary position.
歸妹以須，未當也。'The younger sister who was to be married off is in a mean position:'—this is shown by the improprieties (indicated in the line).
In plain words
'The maiden marries in expectation; she turns back and marries as a secondary wife.' 須 is read as waiting, or as a lowly attendant; either way line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Dui, the trigram of pleasure, riding on two strong lines with no corresponding line above (six is also yin). It wants more than its position warrants and has nothing to secure it, so it ends by accepting the lesser place it could have had from the start. The small Image says only 未當也, it is not fitting. The text gives no verdict; the reversal is the verdict.
If this line is changing
Holding out for a position the situation will not give you ends with you taking the lesser one anyway, later and with less grace; decide now whether the secondary place is acceptable, and if it is, take it cleanly.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 兌 Dui (the Joyous) (lake).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sister becomes ䷡ 34 大壯 Great Vigor
Thunder above heaven: great strength on the move. Favourable to persevere correctly — real power stays within the bounds of propriety; the ram that butts the hedge gets stuck.
What it becomes34 · 大壯 Great Vigordà zhuàngThe six lines of 歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sister
- 初九Nine at the beginningsecondary wife · lame but walking · service
- 九二Nine in the second placeone-eyed sight · the recluse · unchanged constancy
- 六三Six in the third placewaiting to be taken · the wrong footing · settling for less
- 九四Nine in the fourth placemissing the date · deliberate delay · the right time
- 六五Six in the fifth placeDi Yi's sister · plainer sleeves · moon nearly full
- 上六Six at the topempty basket · bloodless sheep · form without substance
Read 歸妹 Marrying the Younger Sister for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 54, Marrying the Younger Sister, mean?
- 'The maiden marries in expectation; she turns back and marries as a secondary wife.' 須 is read as waiting, or as a lowly attendant; either way line three is yin in a yang place at the top of Dui, the trigram of pleasure, riding on two strong lines with no corresponding line above (six is also yin). It wants more than its position warrants and has nothing to secure it, so it ends by accepting the lesser place it could have had from the start. The small Image says only 未當也, it is not fitting. The text gives no verdict; the reversal is the verdict.
- What does hexagram 54 become when line 3 changes?
- Marrying the Younger Sister becomes hexagram 34, 大壯 Great Vigor: Thunder above heaven: great strength on the move. Favourable to persevere correctly — real power stays within the bounds of propriety; the ram that butts the hedge gets stuck.
- Is line 3 of Marrying the Younger Sister in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).