萃
“Clustering” — King Wen #45
Gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly.
The Judgment 卦辞
亨，王假有廟，利見大人，亨，利貞；用大牲吉，利有攸往。
In (the state denoted by) Cui, the king will repair to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous (also) to meet with the great man; and then there will be progress and success, though the advantage must come through firm correctness. The use of great victims will conduce to good fortune; and in whatever direction movement is made, it will be advantageous.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
有孚不終，乃亂乃萃；若號，一握為笑，勿恤，往無咎。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject with a sincere desire (for union), but unable to carry it out, so that disorder is brought into the sphere of his union. If he cry out (for help to his proper correlate), all at once (his tears) will give place to smiles. He need not mind (the temporary difficulty); as he goes forward, there will be no error.
引吉，無咎；孚乃利用禴。
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject led forward (by his correlate). There will be good fortune, and freedom from error. There is entire sincerity, and in that case (even the small offerings of) the vernal sacrifice are acceptable.
萃如，嗟如，無攸利；往無咎，小吝。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject striving after union and seeming to sigh, yet nowhere finding any advantage. If he go forward, he will not err, though there may be some small cause for regret.
大吉，無咎。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject in such a state that, if he be greatly fortunate, he will receive no blame.
萃有位，無咎；匪孚，元永貞，悔亡。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the union (of all) under its subject in the place of dignity. There will be no error. If any do not have confidence in him, let him see to it that (his virtue) be great, long-continued, and firmly correct, and all occasion for repentance will disappear.
齎諮涕洟，無咎。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject sighing and weeping; but there will be no error.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 45 places earth (坤) beneath lake (兑) —receptive ground holding all things below, joy lifting what it touches above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Clustering”:gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 45
What does 萃 (cuì) mean?
Hexagram 45 of the I Ching is named 萃 (cuì), usually rendered "Clustering" in English editions. Its figure pairs earth (坤) below with lake (兑) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 45?
兑 (Lake) sits above and 坤 (Earth) sits below — the classical picture is receptive ground holding all things beneath joy lifting what it touches.
How is hexagram 45 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 45 gives hexagram 26 — 大畜 (Great Accumulating). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 46 — 升 (Ascending). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 53 — 漸 (Infiltrating).
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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.