歸妹Guimei · The Marrying Maiden
In one sentence
The position is wrong and the standing is not proper; pushing forward on your own initiative will cost you.
The matter or the relationship did not start from quite the right place: it was set in motion by a passing mood or desire. Do not take the initiative to push it forward. First think through how this will end in the long run, and see where its flaws lie.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- This position, this opportunity, started off not quite right: your standing in it is unclear, or you took it on an impulse. Pushing forward on your own initiative will cost you, and nothing is favorable in it. Don't compete and don't commit yet; think through what this road looks like at its end, and where the flaw lies.
- Love
- This relationship had a problem from the start: you came together on a passing mood or desire, or your place in it was never proper to begin with. Pushing it forward or demanding a recognized place will not turn out well. First see clearly how it would end in the long run. If the ending you can see is a bad one, you can stop going forward now.
- Money
- A deal made on a moment's excitement, or money that comes without a rightful claim: don't touch it, because touching it will cost you. If you're already caught up in it, don't put in more. Sit down and think through how this ends and where the holes are, then decide whether to stay in.
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 wordsGoing forward brings misfortune; there is nothing to be gained. When your standing is not proper and you act on a passing pleasure, it will not end well.
The Tuan commentary
歸妹，天地之大義也。天地不交，而萬物不興，歸妹人之終始也。說以動，所歸妹也。征凶，位不當也。无攸利，柔乘剛也。
Guimei: the great principle of heaven and earth. If heaven and earth do not meet, all things fail to arise. Guimei is the end and the beginning of humankind. Joyful, and so moving: the one who is married off is the maiden. "To set forth brings misfortune": the places are not proper. "Nothing is favorable": the yielding rides on the firm.
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
澤上有雷，歸妹。君子以永終知敝。
Thunder over the lake: Guimei (The Marrying Maiden). The noble one, looking to the far end, knows where things will wear out.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text歸妹以娣，跛能履，征吉。The maiden marries as a secondary wife. The lame can still walk. To set forth brings good fortune.In plain wordsMarrying in the role of the bride's attendant. It is like being lame and still able to walk: the person is good, only the position is low, and she can do no more than assist. Going forward in this way brings good fortune. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text眇能視，利幽人之貞。The one-eyed can still see. It is favorable to stay true like one who lives in seclusion.In plain wordsBlind in one eye, yet still able to see. The person is worthy, but has met the wrong partner and cannot put her abilities to use. Stay true like someone who holds to the right way and keeps to it alone. That is favorable. More on this line →
Six in the third place
Text歸妹以須，反歸以娣。The maiden waits to be married. She turns back and marries as a secondary wife.In plain wordsShe wants to marry into a good family, but nobody will have her, so she has to turn back and become a bride's attendant. If you are not upright yourself, you will not get the position you want. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text歸妹愆期，遲歸有時。The maiden lets the date pass. A late marriage has its time.In plain wordsShe has passed the age for marrying. It is not that she cannot marry; a good woman will not go off with just anyone. A little later, the right time will come of itself. More on this line →
Six in the fifth place
Text帝乙歸妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良。月幾望，吉。Emperor Yi gives his younger sister in marriage. The princess's sleeves are not as fine as those of the secondary wife. The moon is nearly full. Good fortune.In plain wordsEmperor Yi marries off his younger sister, and the princess's sleeves are not as beautiful as those of the woman who attends her. She values virtue, not dress. Like the moon that is almost full but not yet full: good fortune. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text女承筐无實，士刲羊无血，无攸利。The woman holds a basket, but nothing is in it. The man stabs a sheep, but no blood flows. Nothing is favorable.In plain wordsThe basket the woman carries is empty; the man slaughters a sheep and no blood appears. A betrothal with no outcome, a form with no substance. There is nothing good in it at all. 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, Guimei belongs to the third pentad of Autumn Equinox, “Waters begin to dry” (October 3 to October 7, 2026) and the first pentad of Cold Dew, “Wild geese come as guests” (October 8 to October 12, 2026).