Upper trigram
☱
Lake (Dui) above
Joy and openness.
FamilyYoungest daughter
ElementMetal
Hexagram 17 of 64
I Ching hexagram 17 ☱☳ Following
I Ching hexagram 17, Following, is lake above, thunder below. In brief: adapting to circumstances rather than forcing them. Counting from the bottom, its solid lines sit in places 1, 4 and 5 and its broken lines in 2, 3 and 6.
- Lines, bottom up
- ⚊⚋⚋⚊⚊⚋ 100110 · 1 = solid
- Trigrams
- Lake over Thunder Dui ☱ / Zhen ☳
- Every line changed
- № 18 Work on the Decayed
- In Legge, 1882
- p. 93 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
Legge, The Yî King, 1882.
Lower trigram
☳
Thunder (Zhen) below
Arousal and shock.
FamilyEldest son
ElementWood
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What the text says, in plain terms
The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 17
The Judgement
Following well. Adapting to the needs of the moment — and knowing whom to follow — brings success, provided the path you follow is a sound one.
The Image
Thunder resting in the lake, as the year turns toward winter. The lesson is to rest when it is time to rest and move with the natural rhythm of things.
A summary of meaning written for this site, not a translation — James Legge’s 1882 translation of the full text follows below. How the Judgement and the Image are read, and which translations to use →
Primary source
Hexagram 17 in James Legge’s translation
“Sui indicates that (under its conditions) there will be great progress and success. But it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. There will (then) be no error.”
“(The trigram for the waters of) a marsh and (that for) thunder (hidden) in the midst of it form Sui. The superior man in accordance with this, when it is getting towards dark, enters (his house) and rests.”
The lines
- Line 1 · bottom The first line, undivided, shows us one changing the object of his pursuit; but if he be firm and correct, there will he good fortune. Going beyond (his own) gate to find associates, he will achieve merit.
- Line 2 The second line, divided, shows us one who cleaves to the little boy, and lets go the man of age and experience.
- Line 3 The third line, divided, shows us one who cleaves to the man of age and experience, and lets go the little boy. Such following will get what it seeks; but it will be advantageous to adhere to what is firm and correct.
- Line 4 The fourth line, undivided, shows us one followed and obtaining (adherents). Though he be firm and correct, there will be evil. If he be sincere (however) in his course, and make that evident, into what error will he fall?
- Line 5 The fifth line, undivided, shows us (the ruler) sincere in (fostering all) that is excellent. There will be good fortune.
- Line 6 · top The topmost line, divided, shows us (that sincerity) firmly held and clung to, yea, and bound fast. (We see) the king with it presenting his offerings on the western mountain.
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 93 — read the original text.
Words in parentheses are Legge’s own: in his preface he explains that they supply what the original writer left unsaid. “Undivided” and “divided” are his terms for yang and yin lines, counted from the bottom. The Image comes from the second appendix of the book, the Treatise on the Symbolism.
Following for a decision
This is a moment to adapt rather than insist. Follow a good lead or a changing situation, but check that you are following principle, not just convenience or pressure.
I Ching 17 in love and relationships
Mutual adjustment. Each person follows the other at different times, and the relationship works when neither insists on always leading.
Hexagram 17 at work
Changing direction to fit new conditions, or joining a leader worth backing. Flexibility is an advantage as long as it has a clear purpose.
The six lines of hexagram 17
Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yang yin yin yang yang yin — what each position means.
3 yang and 3 yin lines. Four of the six stand in their proper place, and the pair 2–5 answers.
What the two trigrams do to each other
Inner and outer
Thunder below — arousal and shock — is the private, inner side of hexagram 17.
Lake above — joy and openness — is the world that side meets.
The five-element relation
Metal above controls Wood below. Circumstance restrains the inner position — pressure comes from the situation, not from within.
Read as a family
The youngest daughter sits above and the eldest son below. A brother and a sister, the younger one on top — siblings rather than parent and child, with the junior one taking the lead.
Calculated from the lines
Hexagrams connected to hexagram 17
Nuclear hexagram
53 · Development
What is happening beneath the surface.
Lines 2–4 give Gen (Mountain) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Xun (Wind) as the upper.
Opposite hexagram
18 · Work on the Decayed
The situation turned inside out.
Change all six lines and Lake over Thunder becomes Mountain over Wind.
Inverse hexagram
18 · Work on the Decayed
The situation seen from the other side.
Turn the figure upside down and Lake over Thunder becomes Mountain over Wind.
None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.
The image
Lake above, Thunder below.
Lake over Thunder: joy and openness meeting arousal and shock.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “I Ching Hexagram 17: Following.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/17/
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