In love
In a relationship, Fu points to a resumption: a conversation that starts again, a bond you find once more, provided you come back to it with simplicity.
Hexagram 24
I Ching hexagram 24: Return (Fu)
Fu means return: after the darkest phase of a cycle, a new force quietly reappears, small but real.
- renewal
- return to yourself
- cycle
The essentials
Fu at a glance
For you, Fu describes a return to the essential: something simple is coming back to life, and it is better to support it gently than to rush it.
A strength
The chance to start again on a sound footing, because the lowest point of a cycle is also its turning point.
Something to watch
Pressing the movement: what is being reborn is still fragile, and its growth calls for slowness.
- What it advises
- Return to what matters, move forward without forcing, and let the new momentum settle in before asking much of it.
- Its opposite
- 44. Coming to Meet (Gou)
The situation
Fu is about a return. A single solid line reappears at the bottom of the figure, beneath five broken lines: the light is coming back, still very small. The Judgment speaks of free passage, of coming and going without hindrance, of friends arriving, and of no fault.
It adds that the movement retraces its own path and that the return is completed “in seven days,” an image of a full cycle that closes and then begins again. Every direction then becomes favorable, as long as you do not force what is just starting.
The hexagram invites you to go back to what matters, to pick up a thread you set aside, and to protect the young momentum rather than ask it for results already.
The image: Earth above Thunder
- AboveEarth: the welcome that carries
- BelowThunder: the shock that awakens
Thunder within Earth: the awakening that stirs beneath the ground. The commentaries recall that at the winter solstice the ancient rulers closed the passes: travel stopped so that the cycle could start again.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · solidAn early return, before you have drifted far: nothing to regret. Tradition grants it an exceptional chance, that of recovering quickly.
- 2nd line · brokenAn admirable return, made by leaning on a person of worth: a fortunate sign for whoever can follow a good example.
- 3rd line · brokenRepeated returns, hesitations that come back: the position is delicate without being faulty. Every new start counts.
- 4th line · brokenWalking in the midst of the crowd and returning alone to your own path: following what is right, even if nobody else goes that way.
- 5th line · brokenA noble and generous return, without calculation: nothing to regret. Coming back to yourself candidly, without trying to justify yourself.
- 6th line (top) · brokenLosing your way while looking for the return: confusion and lasting setbacks, especially if you draw others into a confrontation. Better to stop and review your direction.
Fu in your life
At work
At work, the hexagram favors resuming a project you set aside, starting again from small solid foundations rather than from a grand plan.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 復 (fù)
- Number
- 24 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Earth (坤) above, Thunder (震) below
- Inner hexagram
- 2. The Receptive (Kun) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 23. Splitting Apart (Bo)
- Symbol
- ䷗ (U+4DD7)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 24
What does I Ching hexagram 24 mean?
Hexagram 24, Fu, means return: the moment when, after the lowest phase of a cycle, fresh momentum comes back and asks to be supported gently.
Which hexagram is the opposite of hexagram 24?
It is hexagram 44, Gou, Coming to Meet: a single broken line beneath five solid ones. Fu sees the light returning, Gou sees the shadow inviting itself in.