The name 名
Gòu 姤 means to meet, the same word as the 逅 in xièhòu 邂逅, a chance encounter. Yin and yang must meet for anything to be born, so meeting is good in itself. But the meeting in this hexagram comes suddenly, and with force.
The image 象
Heaven above, Wind below: wind blowing everywhere under the sky. One yin appears beneath five yang. In Guài the yin was at the top, about to leave; here it is at the very bottom, just arriving, and that is what makes it formidable. This is the waxing-and-waning hexagram of the fifth month: at the height of summer, cold yin already stirs underground, and it will draw the others up after it, through Dùn, Pǐ, Guān and Bō, until all is Kūn.
Layers of images 層
A gua can be read on several levels at once: the trigrams as members of a family (father, mother, eldest to youngest sons and daughters), the six lines as ranks in an organisation (from newcomer to ruler), and as forces of nature and animals. Each extra level adds meaning to the line texts.
Read as a family
Below is Xùn, the eldest daughter; above is Qián, the father. One yin line enters at the bottom and faces five yang: like a strong woman arriving in a family or circle made up entirely of men, whom everyone wants to approach, and who changes the whole situation. “The woman is strong; do not take her in marriage” is not a judgment on women but a warning: a force that has just appeared needs to be seen clearly and placed well from the very start.
Line 1, “tied to a metal brake; steadiness is auspicious… a lean pig, restless and pawing”: the brake is the block of wood that stops a cart. The upper trigram Qián is metal, and lines 2–4 and 3–5 are also nuclear Qián, metal upon metal, so the brake is made of metal. The newborn yin is like a thin little pig: it looks harmless, but its hooves never stop stamping. Tie it down early.
Line 2, “there is a fish in the wrapper; no blame; not fitting for guests”: the fish is a yin thing, Line 1. Line 2 sits right above it and wraps the fish in its own kitchen, not letting it reach the guests outside, so there is no blame. A newly arrived force is safer held by the nearest, steadiest hand than left to drift about.
Line 5, “a willow wraps the melon; hiding its brilliance; something falls from heaven”: one yin under five yang looks like an enlarged Xùn, and Xùn is wood, here a tall willow-tree. The melon is a yin thing creeping on the ground, Line 1. The ruler shades the melon below like a great tree’s canopy, keeps his brilliance hidden, and waits for heaven’s timing to ripen things.
Top line, “meeting with horns; regret”: Qián is the head, and the hexagram holds three Qián (the upper trigram and two nuclear ones); the highest point, above the head, is the horn. Standing too high and meeting people only with one’s horns turns an encounter into a clash: no great harm, but a pity.
Inverted, Gòu becomes Guài. In Guài the yin is at the top, about to leave; in Gòu it is at the bottom, just arriving. One is going and one is coming, and the newcomer needs more watching: what is leaving has no strength left, while what has just arrived will keep growing upward.
Change all six lines of Gòu and you get Fù. Gòu is the fifth month, around the summer solstice, when one yin sprouts in the height of heat; Fù is the eleventh month, the winter solstice, when one yang sprouts in the depth of cold. The year’s two turning points mirror each other: at the hottest the cold is already born, at the coldest life is already stirring. Drawing Gòu means seeing that turn.
In sequence 序
決必有所遇，故受之以姤；姤者遇也。
The Xugua: what is resolved must meet with something, so Gòu follows Guài; Gòu means to meet. A breaking-off always opens the way to a new encounter. Gòu is also Guài turned upside down: the same one yin and five yang, in the opposite situation.
The judgment 辭
姤：女壯，勿用取女。
The judgment is a single sentence: the woman is strong; do not take such a woman in marriage. It is the only place in the sixty-four where the text says this outright. One yin facing five yang is like one woman with five suitors, simply too strong; as she grows, the yang lines above must leave one by one, and the two sides cannot advance together. It does not mean a person who draws this hexagram should not marry. It asks whether the match is right: whether the other is too strong for you, someone you cannot grow alongside.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：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！
The Tuan first explains the warning: one cannot grow long together with her, for as one rises the other declines. Then it turns to praise: when heaven and earth meet, all kinds of things come into bloom; when the firm meets the central and correct, all under heaven goes well. Without this one yin the figure would be pure Qián, yang without yin, and nothing could flourish. Hence: great indeed is the meaning of the time of Encounter. Drawing this hexagram is no cause for alarm; it often marks a passing stage, and a decision put off for a while may look different later.
The great image 象
象曰：天下有風，姤；后以施命誥四方。
“Wind beneath heaven: Gòu. The sovereign issues commands and proclaims them to the four quarters.” Wind reaches everywhere, as an order travels across a realm, and heaven above stands for the ruler's will reaching down. Here the subject is the sovereign rather than the noble person: the concern is how those in authority make their word reach every corner, clearly and evenly.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line With one yin among five yang, the first line rules: the strong woman of the judgment and the moves of every yang line revolve around it. Yet as a waxing-and-waning hexagram, Gòu is read more for its trend, this yin drawing others upward, than for its ruling line; the two central yang lines, second and fifth, are what hold the situation steady.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
Line 1 is the yielding force that has just walked in; it must be tied to a metal brake at once, or it will run about like a restless piglet. Line 2, right beside it, keeps it in its own kitchen and does not let it slip out. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram and cut off from it, can neither sit nor move easily, but is spared serious harm for that very reason. Line 4, entering the upper trigram, should correspond with Line 1, but the fish has already been taken by Line 2: a minister who has lost the people, and contending for it brings misfortune. Line 5 on the throne shelters the melon like a great tree, hides its brilliance and waits for the time to ripen. The top line, perched high, meets others with its horns and is left with regret.
初六繫于金柅，貞吉，有攸往，見凶，羸豕，孚，蹢躅。
Variant Shown as 「繫于金柅」; some editions read 「系」.
In plain words
Tied to a metal brake: steadfastness brings good fortune. Going anywhere, one meets misfortune. A lean pig will surely struggle and plunge.
Close reading
柅 is the block beneath a cart that stops its wheels, a brake. Qián above supplies the metal, and Xùn below the cord and the wood: hence tied to a metal brake. Yin in a yang place, not correctly positioned, resonating with the fourth line and the only yin in the figure, this line changes everything once it moves; rising would endanger the yang, so only stillness is fortunate. The lean pig stands for yin, its plunging taken from Xùn's back-and-forth, showing that this new force, though slight, is already restless. The Xiao Xiang: the way of the soft must be held in check.
One level deeper
Line 1, “tied to a metal brake; steadiness is auspicious… a lean pig, restless and pawing”: the brake is the block of wood that stops a cart. The upper trigram Qián is metal, and lines 2–4 and 3–5 are also nuclear Qián, metal upon metal, so the brake is made of metal. The newborn yin is like a thin little pig: it looks harmless, but its hooves never stop stamping. Tie it down early.
If you drew this line
Hold still and keep a firm rein on whatever is just emerging, whether around you or within you. Pushing forward now invites trouble.
九二包有魚，无咎，不利賓。
In plain words
There is a fish in the wrapper; no blame. It does not pay to serve it to guests.
Close reading
The fish, a creature of cold dark water, is the first line; the ancients wrapped fish in cloth or white rushes as a modest but sincere gift. Yang in a yin place, not correctly positioned but central, the second line sits right next to the yin and reaches it first. The guest is the fourth line, the yin's proper partner, beaten to it. Gòu is meeting, and whoever meets first takes, regardless of entitlement. The Xiao Xiang: by right it does not extend to the guest; what is in hand is not to be handed on.
One level deeper
Line 2, “there is a fish in the wrapper; no blame; not fitting for guests”: the fish is a yin thing, Line 1. Line 2 sits right above it and wraps the fish in its own kitchen, not letting it reach the guests outside, so there is no blame. A newly arrived force is safer held by the nearest, steadiest hand than left to drift about.
If you drew this line
The opportunity is right at hand; hold it securely and there is no fault. But do not rush to share it, display it or pass it on.
When Qin lost its deer
After the war between Chu and Han, Liu Bang captured Kuai Tong, who had once urged Han Xin to strike out on his own, and ordered him boiled alive. Kuai Tong argued that when Qin lost its deer, the whole realm gave chase, and the one with the greatest talent and the swiftest feet caught it first; each man had served his own master. Liu Bang pardoned him. The fish in the wrapper follows the same logic: in a time of encounter, before claims are settled, the one nearest and quickest takes the prize.
九三臀无膚，其行次且，厲，无大咎。
In plain words
No skin on the buttocks, walking falteringly; danger, but no great blame.
Close reading
The words repeat the fourth line of Guài, because Gòu is Guài inverted. At the top of Xùn, the thigh, the third line is the buttocks. Yang in a yang place and correctly positioned, it wants to act, but it has no resonance with the top line, and the first line below is already held by the second. Wedged in between, it can neither sit nor walk. The Xiao Xiang: its movement has nothing to draw it along. Still within compliant Xùn, it has room to manoeuvre, hence no great blame.
If you drew this line
Stuck between, unable to get a grip, some restlessness is natural. Stay calm and do not force your way toward what is not yours to reach.
九四包无魚，起凶。
In plain words
No fish in the wrapper; to start anything brings misfortune.
Close reading
Yang in a yin place, misplaced, the fourth line is the first line's rightful partner, yet in a hexagram where meeting first is everything it arrives too late: the second has already wrapped the fish. Circumstance outweighs entitlement. The Xiao Xiang: it is far from the people. The first line stands for the common folk, and having lost touch with them, the fourth will find no response to any initiative. Pressing ahead would only hasten the yin's rise.
If you drew this line
However rightful your claim, without support and footing little can be done. Keep a low profile, start nothing, and first get to know the people you mean to serve.
Lecturing in a new place
Someone invited to lecture for the first time in an unfamiliar region cast before setting out and drew Gòu with the second and fourth lines changing; by Zhu Xi's rule the upper of the two applies: no fish in the wrapper; to start anything brings misfortune. The reading was plain: newly arrived and still unknown, why expect a fee? So every lecture on that trip was given without payment, and every contact was handled modestly, with nothing initiated. The Xiao Xiang fit too: far from the people, for the speaker's audience had always been elsewhere. The response was warm, and it laid a foundation for later exchanges.
九五以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天。
In plain words
A melon wrapped in willow leaves: hidden beauty; something falls from heaven.
Close reading
The 杞 tree is tall with broad leaves, an image from Xùn as wood and height; the whole figure, one yin under five yang, is itself like an enlarged Xùn, and the fifth line is at its summit. The melon is still the first line, round because Qián is round; Gòu is the fifth month, when melons ripen and these trees are in full leaf. Yang in a yang place, central and correct, without resonance from the second, the ruler oversees the whole and gently wraps the sprouting melon so it does not press ahead: hidden beauty, says the Xiao Xiang, because it is central and correct. Something falls from heaven: from the heavenly seat, its will does not abandon its charge to keep the whole steady.
One level deeper
Line 5, “a willow wraps the melon; hiding its brilliance; something falls from heaven”: one yin under five yang looks like an enlarged Xùn, and Xùn is wood, here a tall willow-tree. The melon is a yin thing creeping on the ground, Line 1. The ruler shades the melon below like a great tree’s canopy, keeps his brilliance hidden, and waits for heaven’s timing to ripen things.
If you drew this line
From a position of authority, contain emerging changes with breadth and patience rather than force; keep your gifts inward and hold fast to your responsibility.
上九姤其角，吝，无咎。
In plain words
Meeting with the horns: difficulty, but no blame.
Close reading
Qián is the head, and the top line, above the head, is its horns; with the upper Qián and two inner Qián figures stacked within, the highest point is naturally the horns. Yang in a yin place, misplaced, with no resonance from the third and the farthest of all from the first line, it is at the end of the road. The Xiao Xiang: at the top, exhausted, hence difficulty. There is no blame because the second and fifth still hold firm, so no immediate disaster comes, and the awkwardness is not its own fault.
One level deeper
Top line, “meeting with horns; regret”: Qián is the head, and the hexagram holds three Qián (the upper trigram and two nuclear ones); the highest point, above the head, is the horn. Standing too high and meeting people only with one’s horns turns an encounter into a clash: no great harm, but a pity.
If you drew this line
You are high up with little room ahead, and may find yourself aloof and bumping at every turn. Blunt your edges and do not strain; the awkwardness need not become harm.
Stories 典
One yin is born at midsummer
The ancients matched the twelve months to twelve waxing-and-waning hexagrams: Fù, with one yang reborn, belongs to the winter solstice in the eleventh month; Gòu, with one yin born, to the summer solstice in the fifth. At the height of heat, cold is already sprouting underground; at the depth of cold, warmth is quietly returning. Gòu's first line looks faint, yet it will draw the yin upward through Dùn, Pǐ, Guān and Bō to pure Kūn. Kūn's first line warns that treading on frost, solid ice is coming, and its commentary says great disasters arise by slow degrees. This is one of the strongest yin lines in the whole book, which is why it must be tied to the brake at once: there is no clearer lesson in reading the first faint signs.
A great dyke and an ant hole
Hanfeizi observes that a dyke a thousand zhang long can collapse through an ant hole, and a house a hundred feet high can burn from a spark escaping through a crack in the chimney. So Bai Gui, the famous water manager, always plugged the small holes in his dykes, and the careful old householder always sealed the cracks around his chimney; the one never suffered floods, the other never fires. Hanfei calls this taking care with what is easy to avoid what is hard, and respecting what is small to keep away what is great. Gòu's first line is that ant hole: the five yang above look unshakeable, but once a yin is born, unless it is checked early, it will spread upward layer by layer.
Insight 悟
Gòu teaches two things that seem at odds. Meeting is good; all things flourish through encounter. Yet a force at its beginning is often the hardest to manage later if it is not watched from the start. So with a new person, a new opportunity, a new impulse in your own heart, appreciate it and also hold it in check. In marriage and partnership what matters is fit, not strength. And the contrast of the second and fourth lines shows that entitlement does not decide the outcome; timing and position often weigh more. Whether you gain or lose, you can still see from where you stand what is yours to do.