Hexagram 45: Gathering
萃Cuì
Drawn together around one center.
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
萃。 亨，王假有廟。利見大人，亨，利貞。用大牲吉。利有攸往。
Our English rendering
Gathering. Success. The king comes to the ancestral temple. It is favorable to see a person of great standing. Success. It is favorable to remain steadfast. Offering a large sacrificial animal is auspicious. It is favorable to have a destination.
The Image
Classical Chinese
象曰：澤上於地，萃。君子以除戎器，戒不虞。
Our English rendering
The lake rises above the earth: Gathering. A person of integrity puts weapons in good order and guards against the unexpected.
Translation note: The Judgment names an ancestral temple and a large animal sacrifice; those ritual details are retained. 'A person of great standing' preserves the historical sense of someone with authority or stature.
A modern reading
A lake collects water in a common place. Gathering asks what allows separate people or resources to become a group with a center. In the Judgment, the ancestral temple gives the assembly a shared focus, while a substantial sacrificial offering makes the occasion consequential. For a modern reader, the question is what participants are actually gathering around and what each is willing to contribute to sustain that purpose.
Water gathered above the ground also creates pressure. The Image's preparation of weapons introduces the less festive work of protecting an assembly against unforeseen trouble. A team or community needs provisions for confusion, conflict, and interruption alongside its common enthusiasm. Preparation can include knowing who makes a decision, how concerns are raised, and what happens when resources run short. The gathering becomes stronger when its practical responsibilities are visible to those taking part.
A question to sit with
What shared purpose and practical preparation would help this gathering hold together?
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