兌
“Open” — King Wen #58
The lake beside the lake. Shared joy and open speech carry weight with others.
The Judgment 卦辞
亨，利貞。
Dui intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and attainment. (But) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
和兌，吉。
The first NINE, undivided, shows the pleasure of (inward) harmony. There will be good fortune.
孚兌，吉，悔亡。
The second NINE, undivided, shows the pleasure arising from (inward) sincerity. There will be good fortune. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
來兌，凶。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject bringing round himself whatever can give pleasure. There will be evil.
商兌未寧，介疾有喜。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject deliberating about what to seek his pleasure in, and not at rest. He borders on what would be injurious, but there will be cause for joy.
孚于剝，有厲。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject trusting in one who would injure him. The situation is perilous.
引兌。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows the pleasure of its subject in leading and attracting others.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 58 places lake (兑) beneath lake (兑) —joy lifting what it touches below, joy lifting what it touches above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Open”:the lake beside the lake. Shared joy and open speech carry weight with others Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 58
What does 兌 (duì) mean?
Hexagram 58 of the I Ching is named 兌 (duì), usually rendered "Open" in English editions. Its figure pairs lake (兑) below with lake (兑) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 58?
兑 (Lake) sits above and 兑 (Lake) sits below — the classical picture is joy lifting what it touches beneath joy lifting what it touches.
How is hexagram 58 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 58 gives hexagram 52 — 艮 (Bound). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 57 — 巽 (Ground). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 37 — 家人 (Dwelling People).
Ask your own question
Reading about hexagram 58 is looking it up. Casting it — shaking the tube, watching your own coins fall — is how an answer becomes yours.
Cast this question yourselfNew to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
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.