姤Gou · Encounter
In one sentence
A person or a matter you run into unexpectedly; do not get deeply involved lightly.
A small, inconspicuous beginning has just appeared. It looks weak, but it will grow fast. Keep it in check from the very start; do not let it grow big. Keep your distance from temptation that shows up suddenly, and do not tie yourself to it for the long term.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- An opportunity, a person or a small fault that suddenly pops up may look insignificant, but it will grow fast. When a sign is wrong, get it under control at the very start and do not let it grow powerful. Keep your distance from temptations that arrive at your door. Do not lightly sign anything long-term, and do not tie yourself to it for long.
- Love
- Someone you meet unexpectedly has a strong pull, but this hexagram says it plainly: do not commit lightly. You can get to know them, but do not rush into closeness, and still less rush to tie your whole life to them. If you have a partner, the small stirring that has appeared in your heart should be reined in while it is still small.
- Money
- A money-making chance that suddenly appears, or an expense or debt that looks very small: do not underestimate any of them, because they grow fast. Keep your distance from benefits that arrive at your door, and do not commit money to them for the long term. Plug a small leak early; do not wait for it to grow.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsAn unplanned meeting. This woman is too strong; do not marry her — a small beginning looks minor, but it will grow. Do not draw it close to you.
The Tuan commentary
姤，遇也，柔遇剛也。勿用取女，不可與長也。天地相遇，品物咸章也。剛遇中正，天下大行也。姤之時義大矣哉！
Gou means meeting: the yielding meets the firm. "Do not take this woman as a wife": one cannot stay with her for long. Heaven and earth meet each other, and things of every kind show forth in full. The firm meets the central and correct, and it goes forth greatly under heaven. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of Gou.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
天下有風，姤。后以施命誥四方。
Wind under heaven: Gou (Encounter). The sovereign issues commands and proclaims them to the four quarters.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text繫于金柅，貞吉。有攸往，見凶。羸豕孚蹢躅。Tie it to a metal brake. Staying true brings good fortune. With somewhere to go, one sees misfortune. A lean pig is sure to stamp and pace.In plain wordsTie the cart fast with a metal brake — a bad beginning has just stirred. Stay quiet and true and there is good fortune; let it move forward and you will see misfortune. A lean pig looks weak, yet it keeps fretting and jumping about: do not underestimate it, and guard against it early. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text包有魚，无咎，不利賓。There is a fish in the kitchen. No blame. Not favorable for guests.In plain wordsThere is a fish in the kitchen. No blame. But it should not be served to guests. This bad beginning met you first, so it is yours to keep in check; do not let it spread to everyone else. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text臀无膚，其行次且，厲，无大咎。No skin on the buttocks; walking falters. Danger, but no great blame.In plain wordsNo flesh on your buttocks: you cannot sit still, and you cannot walk fast either. There is danger. But precisely because you met nothing, you were not hurt by the bad thing either; no great blame. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text包无魚，起凶。No fish in the kitchen. Rising up brings misfortune.In plain wordsThe fish in the kitchen is gone — the one who should have been yours was taken first by someone else. To rise up and fight over it now brings misfortune. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天。A melon sheltered by the tall willow. Brilliance held within. Something falls from heaven.In plain wordsCover the melon on the ground with a tall willow tree. Hold your own brilliance in, quietly keep watch and stand guard, and the turn for the better will come as if dropped from the sky, all at once. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text姤其角，吝，无咎。Encounter at the horns. Humiliation. No blame.In plain wordsMeeting at the tip of the horn — the position is too high and too hard, and you meet no one. A bit humiliating, but for that very reason you were not tainted by the bad thing; no blame. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Gou belongs to the second pentad of Summer Solstice, “Cicadas begin to sing” (June 26 to June 30, 2027). It is also one of the twelve sovereign hexagrams, standing for the fifth month of the traditional calendar: one yin line born beneath five yang, as yin begins to return.
The twelve sovereign hexagrams → The 24 solar terms, 72 pentads and their hexagrams →