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Hexagram 61: Inner Truth

䷼ 中孚 (Zhōng Fú) · Inner truth. Sincerity moves even the stubborn.

sincerity, trust, openness, inner truth

Lower trigram: Lake ☱ · Upper trigram: Wind ☴

The judgment

Inner truth is a heart open enough to understand even those who are hardest to reach. When you are sincere, people and situations respond, much as the wind moves the surface of a lake. This kind of trust can carry you through great undertakings. Stay honest, and it holds.

The image

Wind blowing over the Lake, stirring its depths. Listen deeply and try to understand others before you pass judgment, leaning toward mercy.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your casting, counting from the bottom.

• Line 1 (bottom): Be ready, and rely on your own inner steadiness. Secret schemes or hidden dependencies only unsettle you.
• Line 2: A crane calls from the shade and its young answer. Sincerity carries a long way; offer what you have and share it with those whose hearts answer yours.
• Line 3: You tie your mood to someone else: now drumming, now silent, now crying, now singing. Your happiness rests outside yourself.
• Line 4: Like the moon nearly full, you turn toward a higher source and let a companion go their own way. That parting is no mistake.
• Line 5: Your sincerity binds people together like a strong cord. Leading through trust is right.
• Line 6 (top): A rooster's crow tries to reach the sky: words outrunning what is really there. Persisting in empty bravado goes badly.

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