Judgment
— I Ching · classical
征凶，无攸利。
The marrying maiden. Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.
Image
— Great Image
泽上有雷，归妹，君子以永终知敝。
Thunder over the lake: the image of the marrying maiden. Thus the superior person understands the transitory in the light of the eternity of the end.
Six Lines
— Bottom to top
Initial Nine · 初九
⚊ yang
归妹以娣，跛能履，征吉。
The marrying maiden as a concubine. A lame man who is able to tread. Undertakings bring good fortune.
Entering as a secondary, with grace; like a lame man who still walks — accept the limited role and even small steps bring fortune.
Nine in the second · 九二
⚊ yang
眇能视，利幽人之贞。
A one-eyed person who is able to see. The perseverance of a solitary person furthers.
Limited vision; the steadfastness of a recluse fits — work within real constraints.
Six in the third · 六三
⚋ yin
归妹以须，反归以娣。
The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine.
Sought marriage beneath her dignity; arrives as a secondary wife — degraded status from her own miscalculation.
Nine in the fourth · 九四
⚊ yang
归妹愆期，迟归有时。
The marrying maiden draws out the allotted time. A late marriage comes in due course.
Postpones marriage past the date; the right match comes later, in its own time.
Six in the fifth · 六五
⚋ yin
帝乙归妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良。月几望，吉。
The sovereign Yi gave his daughter in marriage. The embroidered garments of the princess were not as gorgeous as those of the serving maid. The moon that is nearly full brings good fortune.
King Yi's daughter wore plainer robes than her servants — the highest rank shows itself in modesty, not display. Moon nearly full; fortune.
Six at the top · 上六
⚋ yin
女承筐无实，士刲羊无血，无攸利。
The woman holds the basket, but there are no fruits in it. The man stabs the sheep, but no blood flows. Nothing that acts to further.
Empty basket, bloodless slaughter — pure ritual without substance; total formalism. Nothing advances.
Modern Readings
— Interdisciplinary
Career & Management
Reverse-merger listing, getting a deal via nepotism, leapfrogging the reporting line. Extreme disadvantage; can be sacrificed at any time; never overshadow the host, keep your head down.
Psychology & Cognition
Audit honestly whether you are playing a 'name-not-matched' role. Stop the shortcut fantasy; protect against the lifelong legal/reputational risk of cutting procedural corners.
Decision Guidance
Undertakings bring misfortune. Understand the transitory in the light of the eternal end (yong zhong zhi bi). Accept the subordinate role with dignity; do not pretend to the chief seat.
Western Parallels
— Cross-cultural
Erving Goffman on 'role-distance' and dignified subordinate posture; Confucian 'rectification of names' (zhengming) as the diagnosis; the Stoic preferred indifferent vs. dispreferred indifferent; Robert Greene on the courtier's craft of restraint.
· All texts here come from public-domain editions of the I Ching and supporting commentary.
· Anygua does not predict, score, schedule, ward, or recommend rituals.
· The same input via the same method will always reproduce the same hexagram — verifiable below.