复
FùUpper: Earth · 坤 · Lower: Thunder · 震
Judgment亨。出入无疾，朋来无咎。反复其道，七日来复，利有攸往。
In plain wordsSuccess; going in and out brings no harm and friends coming brings no fault. Going back and forth along its own way, it returns on the seventh day, and moving forward is favorable. After a low point, new life starts again.
The imageEarth above, thunder below: thunder beneath the ground, yang energy stirring again below, a picture of return.
A hint for youA fresh start need not mean returning to how things were all at once. Recovering slowly, in small steps and in the right direction, is already enough.
Line texts (bottom to top)
- 初九不远复，无祇悔，元吉。The first line, undivided, shows its subject returning (from an error) of no great extent, which would not proceed to anything requiring repentance. There will be great good fortune.
- 六二休复，吉。The second line, divided, shows the admirable return (of its subject). There will be good fortune.
- 六三频复，厉无咎。The third line, divided, shows one who has made repeated returns. The position is perilous, but there will be no error.
- 六四中行独复。The fourth line, divided, shows its subject moving right in the centre (among those represented by the other divided lines), and yet returning alone (to his proper path).
- 六五敦复，无悔。The fifth line, divided, shows the noble return of its subject. There will be no ground for repentance.
- 上六迷复，凶，有灾眚。用行师，终有大败，以其国君，凶；至于十年，不克征。The topmost line, divided, shows its subject all astray on the subject of returning. There will be evil. There will be calamities and errors. If with his views he put the hosts in motion, the end will be a great defeat, whose issues will extend to the ruler of the state. Even in ten years he will not be able to repair the disaster.
Return; a fresh start
For entertainment and self-reflection only