Hexagram 44: Encounter
姤Gòu
An unexpected meeting, taken slowly.
The passages below are historical language. Their references to fortune, danger, and the exemplary person belong to the text’s world. Our modern explanation is an invitation to reflect on your situation.
The Judgment
Classical Chinese
姤。 女壯，勿用取女。
Our English rendering
Encounter. The woman is powerful. Do not take this woman as a wife.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：天下有風，姤。後以施命誥四方。
Our English rendering
Wind moves beneath heaven: Encounter. The ruler issues commands and proclaims them to the four quarters.
Translation note: The Judgment explicitly warns against marrying a powerful woman. Its gendered marriage language is historical; the modern reflection applies the encounter's force and timing more broadly. The Image addresses a ruler, rather than the person of integrity found in many other Images.
A modern reading
Wind can arrive without an invitation and travel far beyond the place where it was first felt. Encounter begins with that sudden contact. The Judgment gives the encounter a forceful, gendered form and warns against taking this woman as a wife. Read as a present-day reflection, the scene raises a question about commitment: a compelling arrival can change the atmosphere before its place in your life is clear.
The Image turns from an intimate meeting to a ruler's announcement carried throughout the realm. An encounter also depends on what becomes known, who hears it, and how widely its effects spread. A useful response may be to state the terms of contact while there is still room to choose them. With a new offer, relationship, or influence, clarity about boundaries can matter as much as the excitement of being approached.
A question to sit with
What would you want to understand about this new encounter before making a lasting commitment?
Source and method
The Judgment and Image are classical passages from the Book of Changes. The English rendering and modern explanation are Meow Ching’s editorial work. This page covers these two passages; it does not translate the six individual line texts.
Read the classical text on Wikisource · Our sources and method