In love
As a couple, Kui stresses sensibilities that diverge: accept the gap, look for modest common ground, without requiring that you be alike.
Hexagram 38
I Ching hexagram 38: Opposition (Kui)
Kui means opposition, paths that diverge: working with difference and succeeding in small matters.
- divergence
- tolerance
- small steps
The essentials
Kui at a glance
For you, Kui describes a disagreement taking hold: better to aim for small agreements than for complete unity.
A strength
An ability to stay yourself while working with very different people.
Something to watch
Reading every gap as hostility: suspicion creates enemies who did not exist.
- What it advises
- Aim for small, concrete agreements rather than total accord, and leave each person their difference.
- Its opposite
- 39. Obstruction (Jian)
The situation
Kui places the Lake beneath Fire: fire rises, water sinks, each going its own way. Two daughters of the same house, says the ancient commentary, whose paths do not meet.
The Judgment stays measured: in small matters, a good outcome is still possible. It does not promise a grand reconciliation; it suggests starting with what is attainable.
The hexagram invites you not to force agreement, to recognize that differences are normal, and to look for modest points of contact, without denying deep disagreements. Small steps, taken in good faith, can be enough to keep the dialogue open.
The image: Fire above the Lake
- AboveFire: clarity that clings
- BelowLake: joy that is shared
The Lake beneath Fire: fire rises, water sinks, and the two move apart. The Great Image draws from this that, despite general agreement, the person of worth knows how to keep their nuances.
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) · solidLost horses that you must not go looking for: they come back by themselves. Even meeting bad people leads to no fault.
- 2nd line · solidMeeting your lord in a side passage: no fault. An understanding reached outside the official frame.
- 3rd line · brokenA cart dragged backward, oxen held back, a face marked: a bad beginning, but a good end. The ordeal passes.
- 4th line · solidAlone in the division, you meet a good person: trust is formed on both sides. A risk, but no fault.
- 5th line · brokenRegret fades: you come to terms with someone close as if biting into tender skin. Moving ahead this way cannot be a mistake.
- 6th line (top) · solidAlone in the division, you see a pig covered in mud, a cart full of ghosts: you draw the bow, then relax it, for it is not an enemy but someone close. Rain comes, and it is fortunate.
Kui in your life
At work
At work, Kui shows a team with opposing views: move ahead on limited tasks, where agreement is realistic, rather than on the major directions.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 睽 (kuí)
- Number
- 38 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Fire (離) above, Lake (兌) below
- Inner hexagram
- 63. After Completion (Ji ji) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 37. The Family (Jia ren)
- Symbol
- ䷥ (U+4DE5)
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 38
What does I Ching hexagram 38 mean?
Hexagram 38, Kui, means opposition: directions that diverge, where you can nonetheless succeed together at small things.
Is Kui a hexagram of conflict?
It describes a divergence more than a confrontation. Its lines speak mostly of mistrust that dissolves: you think you see an enemy, and you find someone close.
Related hexagrams