姤
“Coupling” — King Wen #44
The unexpected encounter. A strong force appears — meet it early and firmly.
The Judgment 卦辞
女壯，勿用取女。
Gou shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry (such) a female.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
繫于金柅，貞吉；有攸往，見凶，羸豕孚躑躅。
The first SIX, divided, shows how its subject should be kept (like a carriage) tied and fastened to a metal drag, in which case with firm correctness there will be good fortune. (But) if he move in any direction, evil will appear. He will be (like) a lean pig, which is sure to keep jumping about.
包有魚，無咎，不利賓。
The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject with a wallet of fish. There will be no error. But it will not be well to let (the subject of the first line) go forward to the guests.
臀無膚，其行次且；厲，無大咎。
The third NINE, undivided, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped so that he walks with difficulty. The position is perilous, but there will be no great error.
包無魚，起凶。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject with his wallet, but no fish in it. This will give rise to evil.
以杞包瓜，含章，有隕自天。
The fifth NINE, undivided, (shows its subject as) a medlar tree overspreading the gourd (beneath it). If he keep his brilliant qualities concealed, (a good issue) will descend (as) from Heaven.
姤其角，吝，無咎。
The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject receiving others on his horns. There will be occasion for regret, but there will be no error.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 44 places wind (巽) beneath heaven (乾) —gentle influence working inward below, creative force pressing upward above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Coupling”:the unexpected encounter. A strong force appears — meet it early and firmly Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 44
What does 姤 (gòu) mean?
Hexagram 44 of the I Ching is named 姤 (gòu), usually rendered "Coupling" in English editions. Its figure pairs wind (巽) below with heaven (乾) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 44?
乾 (Heaven) sits above and 巽 (Wind) sits below — the classical picture is gentle influence working inward beneath creative force pressing upward.
How is hexagram 44 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 44 gives hexagram 24 — 復 (Returning). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 43 — 夬 (Displacement). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 1 — 乾 (Force).
Ask your own question
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.