I Ching · Hexagram 54 of 64
Hexagram 54: Gui Mei （归妹） — The Marrying Maiden
Thunder above, Lake below: the eldest son over the youngest daughter, moving as one is pleased. The maiden is easily moved by words, and this is the opposite of Development. The combination is inverted, with the eldest son pressing down on the youngest daughter, and the hexagram says that to set forth brings misfortune and nothing is favorable. It warns against a marriage made without affection and against a nature that acts only when flattered, while a few lines show how difficulty may be turned to good.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 54 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Gui Mei 归妹 · The Marrying Maiden |
| Upper trigram | Zhen （震）· Thunder |
| Lower trigram | Dui （兑）· Lake |
| Structure | Thunder over Lake |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
The Marrying Maiden. To set forth brings misfortune. Nothing is favorable.
ExplainedThe marriage of a maiden is the great righteousness of heaven and earth, the beginning and end of humankind; but here both the combination and the temper are wrong. So to set forth brings misfortune - the things one must overcome in life, whether children, career or health, all fail - and nothing is favorable, no profit at all. This is because she moves as she is pleased: the young have soft ears and act on what they are told, and a marriage negotiated as a bargain shows its defects the moment the words are done.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
The Marrying Maiden is the great righteousness of heaven and earth. If heaven and earth did not join, the ten thousand things would not arise; the marrying maiden is the end and the beginning of man. Pleased, and therefore moving: this is what the marrying maiden comes to. To set forth brings misfortune: her place is not right. Nothing is favorable: the yielding rides upon the firm.
ExplainedMarriage is the great righteousness of heaven and earth and an end of man that is also a beginning; but here it is brought about by persuasion and intermediaries rather than by knowing one another, and that is the error. The combination places the man on top and the woman below, when good fortune lies the other way, and so to set forth brings misfortune. Nothing is favorable because the yielding rides upon the firm: the yielding stands for profit and the firm for righteousness, and a union built on advantage rather than affection yields no profit. It may do for a business, but never for a marriage.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Thunder over the lake: The Marrying Maiden. The gentleman knows the end and perceives the flaw.
ExplainedThunder over the lake: the dragon is in the pond, and a dragon in a pond either dies there or flies away - neither is a good end. The gentleman in a painful marriage knows the end and perceives the flaw: its one benefit is to see that marriage can be a yoke, so that he no longer clings, accepts the game and learns from it.
The Six Lines （六爻）
The lines are read from the bottom upward. Each carries its own text, a Small Image commentary, and a plain-English reading.
Line 1 · YangLine 1
The marrying maiden taken as a concubine. The lame can walk. To set forth brings good fortune.
Small ImageThe marrying maiden taken as a concubine: because of constancy. The lame can walk, good fortune: she supports and is supported.
ExplainedIn a wrong combination one must take the concubine's place, the lowest place, and by extreme yielding overcome the extreme firm, contending with no one. The misfortune of the hexagram turns to good fortune: even a lame person can walk and overcome everything. Whoever bears what others cannot and walks though lame comes to lead, and the household's trust is placed in her.
Line 2 · YangLine 2
The one-eyed can see. Favorable is the perseverance of the recluse.
Small ImageThe one-eyed can see: favorable is the perseverance of the recluse.
ExplainedWhen a small woman meets a great man, the second way is to be one-eyed - to look at the good and not at the bad, closing one eye for peace. She may choose the quiet of the cloister, the lamp and the sutra, and pass her days in calm. Sorrowful as it is, the discipline may refine her, and one who cannot grow soft should never enter such a match.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
The marrying maiden at her asking is sent back as a concubine.
Small ImageThe marrying maiden at her asking: it is not fitting.
ExplainedTo marry for what one wants - fine clothes and rich food, visible happiness - is to reach after what cannot be held and to inherit nothing; sent home, she can only return as a concubine, her worth all lost. She has chosen it herself. A marriage must rest on affection and rightness; built on advantage it cannot last. The road out of poverty is, rather, to steal no more, to care for one's parents, to honor the wise, to give, and to pity the hungry.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
The marrying maiden delays the time. A late marriage has its hour.
Small ImageThe will to delay: she waits, and then goes.
ExplainedBetter to delay than to hurry into a match on terms. Unless she resolves on the pure life, there is somewhere a partner of affection and rightness waiting, sooner or later; the delay is not want of will but waiting for the right hour, and one should not be hasty in joining.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
Emperor Yi gives his daughter in marriage. The robe of the princess is less fine than the robe of the concubine. The moon is nearly full. Good fortune.
Small ImageEmperor Yi gives his daughter in marriage: her robe is less fine than the concubine's. Her place is in the middle: she walks in nobility.
ExplainedThe princess's wedding robe is plain, less splendid than the concubine's: she is noble yet wants little and cares nothing for show. The moon nearly full is the virtue of the moon approaching its fullness, the noble one who keeps her seat in the middle of herself, dazed by no desire, and so walks in nobility wherever she goes. Wanting little is the very key by which this hexagram turns defeat into victory.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
The woman carries a basket, but it is empty. The man pricks a sheep, but no blood comes. Nothing is favorable.
Small ImageThe top line has no substance: she carries an empty basket.
ExplainedWhen the family fortune is gone and face must still be kept, the basket of offerings carried to the ancestors is empty and the sheep that is stabbed is only dough. The ill-matched pair, wed on terms, pours out quarrel and leaks out wealth until two generations are ruined. Wealth must never be made the threshold of a marriage, or one ends with an empty basket and a sheep without blood.
Key takeaway
A marriage arranged without affection, and a temper that moves only when pleased, are the warnings of this hexagram - though within its moving lines there are ways to turn hardship into good.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 54 (Gui Mei) mean in the I Ching?
Thunder above, Lake below: the eldest son over the youngest daughter, moving as one is pleased. The maiden is easily moved by words, and this is the opposite of Development. The combination is inverted, with the eldest son pressing down on the youngest daughter, and the hexagram says that to set forth brings misfortune and nothing is favorable. It warns against a marriage made without affection and against a nature that acts only when flattered, while a few lines show how difficulty may be turned to good.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 54?
The Marrying Maiden. To set forth brings misfortune. Nothing is favorable. The marriage of a maiden is the great righteousness of heaven and earth, the beginning and end of humankind; but here both the combination and the temper are wrong. So to set forth brings misfortune - the things one must overcome in life, whether children, career or health, all fail - and nothing is favorable, no…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 54 say?
Line 1: The marrying maiden taken as a concubine. The lame can walk. To set forth brings good fortune. Line 2: The one-eyed can see. Favorable is the perseverance of the recluse. Line 3: The marrying maiden at her asking is sent back as a concubine. Line 4: The marrying maiden delays the time. A late marriage has its hour. Line 5: Emperor Yi gives his daughter in marriage. The robe of the princess is less fine than the robe of the concubine. The moon is nearly full. Good fortune. Line 6: The woman carries a basket, but it is empty. The man pricks a sheep, but no blood comes. Nothing is favorable.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 54 (The Marrying Maiden)?
A marriage arranged without affection, and a temper that moves only when pleased, are the warnings of this hexagram - though within its moving lines there are ways to turn hardship into good.
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