Hexagram 54
歸妹 Guī Mèi
The Marrying Maiden
☳ Thunder above ☱ Lake
Judgment 卦辭
征凶。无攸利。
Commentary
Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further. A girl taken into the family but not as the chief wife must behave with special caution and reserve. She must not take it upon herself to supplant the mistress of the house—that would mean disorder and untenable relationships. While legally regulated relationships evince a fixed connection between duties and rights, relationships based on personal inclination depend entirely on tactful reserve. Affection as the principle of relatedness is of the greatest importance in all relationships.
Classical Text
歸妹兌下震上 歸妹，征凶，无攸利。
The Marrying Maiden — Dui below, Zhen above The Marrying Maiden. To advance brings misfortune. Nothing is of benefit.
Image 象
澤上有雷，歸妹。君子以永終知敝。
Thunder over the lake. Understand the transitory in the light of the eternity of the end. Thunder stirs the water of the lake, which follows it in shimmering waves—symbolizing the girl who follows the man of her choice. But every relationship bears the danger of wrong turns leading to endless misunderstandings. Constantly remain mindful of the end. If we drift along, we come together and are parted as the day determines. But if you fix your mind on an end that endures, you succeed in avoiding the reefs that confront closer relationships.
Lines 爻辭
歸妹以娣跛能履征吉
The marrying maiden as a concubine. A lame man who is able to tread. Undertakings bring good fortune. A girl entering a family with the consent of the wife will not rank outwardly as her equal but will withdraw modestly into the background. If she understands how to fit herself into the pattern of things, her position will be entirely satisfactory. Though hampered by this status, as if lame, she can nevertheless accomplish something through kindliness of nature.
Classical commentary
初九，歸妹以娣，跛能履，征吉。
Initial Nine. The Marrying Maiden as a secondary bride. The lame can walk. To advance brings good fortune.
眇能視利幽人之貞
A one-eyed man who is able to see. The perseverance of a solitary one furthers. A girl married to a man who has disappointed her. Man and wife ought to work together like a pair of eyes. Here the girl is left behind in loneliness; the man of her choice has become unfaithful or has died. But she does not lose the inner light of loyalty. Though the other eye is gone, she maintains her loyalty even in loneliness.
Classical commentary
《象》曰：利幽人之貞，未變常也。
The Image says: It is beneficial for a secluded person's Correctness — one has not departed from constancy.
歸妹以須反歸以娣
The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine. A girl in a lowly position who finds no husband may still win shelter as a concubine. This pictures a person who longs too much for joys that cannot be obtained in the usual way. They enter a situation not altogether compatible with self-esteem. Neither judgment nor warning—merely laying bare the actual situation for everyone to draw a lesson.
Classical commentary
六三，歸妹以須，反歸以娣。
Six in the Third. The Marrying Maiden must wait. She returns and goes back as a secondary bride.
歸妹愆期遲歸有時
The marrying maiden draws out the allotted time. A late marriage comes in due course. The girl is virtuous. She does not wish to throw herself away and allows the customary time for marriage to slip by. There is no harm in this; she is rewarded for her purity and, even though belatedly, finds the husband intended for her.
Classical commentary
九四，歸妹愆期，遲歸有時。
Nine in the Fourth. The Marrying Maiden delays the date. The late marriage will come in its own time.
帝乙歸妹其君之袂不如其娣之袂良月幾望吉
The sovereign I 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. A girl of aristocratic birth who marries a man of modest circumstances and understands how to adapt with grace. Free of vanity of outer adornment, forgetting her rank, she takes a place below her husband, just as the moon before it is quite full does not directly face the sun.
Classical commentary
六五，帝乙歸妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良。月幾望，吉。
Six in the Fifth. Di Yi marries off his younger sister. The sovereign's sleeves are not as fine as those of her secondary bride. The moon is nearly full. Good fortune.
女承筐無實士刲羊無血無攸利
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. The ritual is only superficially fulfilled—an empty basket, a sheep already dead. Solely to preserve forms. This impious, irreverent attitude bodes no good for a marriage.
Classical commentary
上六，女承筐无實，士刲羊无血，无攸利。
Top Six. The woman holds a basket with nothing inside. The man slaughters the sheep but there is no blood. Nothing is of benefit.