Hexagram 59: Huan

Wind over Water · 风水涣 · Tendency: Inauspicious

Structure

• Number: 59 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷺
• Upper trigram: Xun (Wind)
• Lower trigram: Kan (Water)
• Lines: yin yang yin yin yang yang (bottom to top)

The statement

亨。王假有庙。利涉大川，利贞。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram indicates signs of dispersion in people's hearts or resources, requiring re-convergence. It is suitable for speaking openly, rebuilding common goals, and integrating scattered forces. Do not let misunderstandings spread, nor rely solely on slogans; practical arrangements are essential.

A Buddhist reading

Huan (Dispersion) sounds like scattering, but Zhixu reads it as spreading joy through the world rather than keeping it to oneself, so dispersion widens rather than dissolves. Wind over water spreads waves without effort, and a single sincere thought reaches far. The fourth line, dispersing the group, he explains best: break up the private circle and merge with what is public, and though it is called dispersion something greater has in fact gathered. The top line returns to contemplation of the body: the great trouble of a person is having a body, which honest examination shows to be a mass of matter, and only when that grip loosens can real benefit be done for others.

After Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655), whose Chan commentary on the Changes reads each hexagram as a stage of practice.

The statement is quoted from the Book of Changes, which is in the public domain. The English reading on this page was prepared for this library.

Related hexagrams

• Previous: Hexagram 58: Dui
• Next / Inverted: Hexagram 60: Jiethe whole figure turned upside down
• Opposite: Hexagram 55: Fengevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 27: Yilines two to four below, three to five above

Related

• Liu Yao Divination ChartLiu Yao casts a hexagram about one specific matter and reads its structure. Unlike BaZi or Zi Wei, which describe a person, Liu Yao describes how a situation stands at a particular moment. This page walks through the full process from casting to attribution.
• Mei Hua Yi Shu CalculatorMei Hua Yi Shu is traditionally attributed to Shao Yong. What sets it apart is how freely it casts: a time, a spoken number, a direction or something noticed in passing will all serve. It attaches no stems and no relatives, reading the trigrams directly. This page covers casting through to the subject and object.