I Ching hexagram 24

I Ching hexagram 24: Return

复 fù · earth above thunder

Thunder stirring deep in the winter earth: the light comes back after the darkest point, and you can begin again.

The judgment: Success. Going out and coming in without harm; friends arrive, no mistake. Back and forth along the way: in seven days comes the return. It pays to go somewhere.
"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."
James Legge's translation, 1882
What it says to you: One firm line has come back at the bottom under five yielding ones: thunder stirring deep inside the earth at midwinter, when the light stops shrinking and starts to grow. This is the turn after Splitting Apart. The judgment is relaxed and friendly. You go out and come in without harm, friends arrive, and the return comes round in seven days, on its own schedule, the way seasons do. So don't force it. The new energy is real but small, the first green shoot, and it needs quiet more than effort. The lines praise turning back early, before a wrong road gets long, and warn against the person who has lost the road entirely and won't come home. If you have drifted from something good, a habit, a person, a practice, go back now. The way is open.

Matter by matter

Love: A reunion or fresh start is favored. Old friends and partners come back; go gently.
Work: Things recover after a slump. Resume what you dropped; start small and rebuild steadily.
Money: Recovery begins. Return to sound habits; growth is slow at first but real.
A yes or no question: Yes. Go back to what is right; the text promises benefit in going forward.

The six lines of Return

A hexagram is built from the bottom up, so the first line is the lowest. You read a line's text only when your cast made it a moving line.

Bottom line, solid

Returning before going far. No great regret. Supreme good fortune.

You noticed the wrong turn early. Turn around now and it costs almost nothing. This is the best line in the hexagram: catch the mistake while it is small, and the luck is great.
Second line, broken

A gracious return. Good fortune.

Coming back is easy for you because someone good is nearby to return to. Follow their example without pride getting in the way. A gentle, willing return like this brings good fortune.
Third line, broken

Returning again and again. Danger, but no harm.

You keep straying and keep coming back. It is tiring and a little risky, a pattern rather than a fix. Still, every return counts. Keep turning back until it finally sticks.
Fourth line, broken

Walking in the middle of the crowd, returning alone.

Everyone around you is going one way, and you turn back toward what is right on your own. It may feel lonely. The text gives no warning here, which is its own quiet approval.
Fifth line, broken

A wholehearted return. No regret.

You come back fully and honestly, with your whole self rather than half. Examine yourself, own your part, and settle back in. There is nothing in this you will regret later.
Top line, broken

Lost on the way back. Misfortune, disaster. An army sent out ends in great defeat, reaching the ruler himself. For ten years no campaign succeeds.

You missed the moment to turn back and now refuse to admit it. Pushing on from here would cost you, and the people who rely on you, for a long time. Stop, and find the road again.

About hexagram 24

What does I Ching hexagram 24 mean?

Hexagram 24, Return, puts earth above thunder. Thunder stirring deep in the winter earth: the light comes back after the darkest point, and you can begin again. Its judgment reads: Success. Going out and coming in without harm; friends arrive, no mistake. Back and forth along the way: in seven days comes the return. It pays to go somewhere.

Is hexagram 24 a yes or a no?

Yes. Go back to what is right; the text promises benefit in going forward.

What does hexagram 24 mean for love?

A reunion or fresh start is favored. Old friends and partners come back; go gently.

What does hexagram 24 mean for work?

Things recover after a slump. Resume what you dropped; start small and rebuild steadily.

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The judgment and lines are rendered from the Chinese text; the quoted judgment is Legge's 1882 translation, and every other English line is Jade Almanac's own. A cast is a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.