I Ching hexagram 57

I Ching hexagram 57: Wind

巽 xùn · wind above wind

Wind following wind gets into every gap: gentle, steady influence in one direction wins where force would fail.

The judgment: Small success. It pays to have somewhere to go. It pays to see the great man.
"Sun intimates that (under the conditions which it denotes) there will be some little attainment and progress. There will be advantage in movement onward in whatever direction. It will be advantageous (also) to see the great man."
James Legge's translation, 1882
What it says to you: Wind follows wind: gentle, constant, getting into every gap. The doubled figure is about influence that works by persistence instead of force, wind following wind until it has reached everywhere. The judgment gives small success, favors having a clear direction, and suggests seeing someone wiser. Your situation probably will not yield to a single push. It yields to steady, quiet pressure, always the same way. The lines show the risks of the soft approach. Dithering forward and back in line one needs a soldier's resolve. Line three's repeated bowing and second-guessing ends in embarrassment. Line five promises a good end even without a good start, if you plan three days ahead and review three days after. Pick one direction, keep blowing that way, and ask someone who knows.

Matter by matter

Love: Gentle persistence wins. Quiet attention beats grand gestures; avoid endless hesitation.
Work: Influence through consistency. Consult a mentor; plan before any change and review after.
Money: Small, steady gains. Indecision can cost you your tools of trade.
A yes or no question: Yes, with a condition. Go gently in one clear direction, after advice.

The six lines of Wind

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, broken

Advancing, retreating. It pays to have a soldier's steadiness.

You keep stepping forward and back. Gentleness has turned into indecision. Make up your mind with the firmness of a soldier under orders, and then hold to it.
Second line, solid

Penetrating beneath the bed. Calling in scribes and shamans in great numbers. Good fortune; no mistake.

Something hidden is causing trouble. Get to the bottom of it, and use every helper and expert you can find. Bringing the hidden thing into the open is the cure.
Third line, solid

Penetrating again and again. Humiliation.

You keep yielding, rethinking, and starting over. Too much accommodation looks weak and wears you out. Decide once, say so plainly, and stop circling back to reopen it.
Fourth line, broken

Regret goes away. In the hunt, he takes three kinds of game.

Modest effort pays off widely now. Your quiet persistence brings in results on several fronts at once. Old regrets fade as you see what you have gathered.
Fifth line, solid

Steadiness brings good fortune; regret goes away; nothing that does not go well. No good beginning, but a good end. Three days before the change, three days after: good fortune.

A change is needed, and it will end well even if it starts badly. Plan carefully before you act, then check carefully after. Steady correction turns a poor start into success.
Top line, solid

Penetrating beneath the bed. He loses his money and his axe. Persisting brings misfortune.

You have dug and deferred until you lost the very means to act. Stop probing and bowing. Persisting in this overly yielding course will hurt you; recover your firmness.

About hexagram 57

What does I Ching hexagram 57 mean?

Hexagram 57, Wind, doubles the trigram for wind. Wind following wind gets into every gap: gentle, steady influence in one direction wins where force would fail. Its judgment reads: Small success. It pays to have somewhere to go. It pays to see the great man.

Is hexagram 57 a yes or a no?

Yes, with a condition. Go gently in one clear direction, after advice.

What does hexagram 57 mean for love?

Gentle persistence wins. Quiet attention beats grand gestures; avoid endless hesitation.

What does hexagram 57 mean for work?

Influence through consistency. Consult a mentor; plan before any change and review after.

Cast the coins for a new question , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks

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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.