Hexagram 31: Influence澤山咸 · Xián

• Upper trigram　Duì, Lake: joy, exchange and open conversation.
• Lower trigram　Gèn, Mountain: stillness, steadiness and stopping at the right time.

The Judgment

Success; perseverance furthers. Taking a partner brings good fortune.

亨，利貞，取女吉。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Mutual response and attraction. Today suits sensing others' feelings with care; sincere exchange brings a warm response.

Something to do today

• Listen closely to a friend today and respond to how they feel.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.