2027 Forecast

Hexagram 44 of 64

I Ching hexagram 44 ☰☴ Coming to Meet

I Ching hexagram 44, Coming to Meet, is heaven above, wind below. In brief: an encounter that should be handled carefully. Its one broken line stands in place 1, counting from the bottom; the other five are solid.

Lines, bottom up
⚋⚊⚊⚊⚊⚊ 011111 · 1 = solid
Trigrams
Heaven over Wind Qian ☰ / Xun ☴
Every line changed
№ 24 Return
In Legge, 1882
p. 154 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16

Legge, The Yî King, 1882.

Paired with it line by line — changed, turned over or read from the inner lines: 24, Return, 43, Breakthrough and 1, The Creative.

Also with Heaven above: 6, Conflict, 10, Treading and 12, Standstill.

Also with Wind below: 18, Work on the Decayed, 28, Great Exceeding and 32, Duration.

To draw a hexagram of your own, cast the I Ching with three coins.

I Ching Hexagram 44: Coming to Meet

Upper trigram

☰

Heaven (Qian) above

Creative force.

FamilyFather
ElementMetal

Lower trigram

☴

Wind (Xun) below

Gentle penetration.

FamilyEldest daughter
ElementWood

What the text says, in plain terms

The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 44

The Judgement

Coming to meet: a seemingly minor influence arrives and quickly gains power. It is not wise to bind yourself to it.

The Image

Wind blowing everywhere under heaven. The lesson is that instructions and influence reach far — so what is sent out should be chosen carefully.

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 44 in James Legge’s translation

The Judgement
“Kâu shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry (such) a female.”
The Image
“(The trigram representing) wind and that for the sky above it form Kâu. The sovereign, in accordance with this, delivers his charges, and promulgates his announcements throughout the four quarters (of the kingdom).”

The lines

  1. Line 1 · bottom The first line, divided, shows how its subject should be kept (like a carriage) tied and fastened to a metal drag, in which case with firm correctness there will be good fortune. (But) if he move in any direction, evil will appear. He will be (like) a lean pig, which is sure to keep jumping about.
  2. Line 2 The second line, undivided, shows its subject with a wallet of fish. There will be no error. But it will not be well to let (the subject of the first line) go forward to the guests.
  3. Line 3 The third line, undivided, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped so that he walks with difficulty. The position is perilous, but there will be no great error.
  4. Line 4 The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject with his wallet, but no fish in it. This will give rise to evil.
  5. Line 5 The fifth line, undivided, (shows its subject as) a medlar tree overspreading the gourd (beneath it). If he keep his brilliant qualities concealed, (a good issue) will descend (as) from Heaven.
  6. Line 6 · top The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject receiving others on his horns. There will be occasion for regret, but there will be no error.
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 154 — 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.

Coming to Meet for a decision

Be cautious about an attractive offer or person that appears suddenly. Keep your independence until you understand what you are dealing with.

I Ching 44 in love and relationships

An unexpected attraction or temptation. Enjoy the meeting, but do not commit before you know more.

Hexagram 44 at work

A new partner, client or idea with hidden strings. Due diligence before any lasting agreement.

The six lines of hexagram 44

Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yin yang yang yang yang yang — what each position means.

Hexagram 44: Heaven over Wind
Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet, line by line from the bottomlineplace · answer1Line 1 · yin, brokenout of placeanswered by 42Line 2 · yang, solidout of placeno answer from 53Line 3 · yang, solidin its placeno answer from 64Line 4 · yang, solidout of placeanswered by 15Line 5 · yang, solidin its placeno answer from 26Line 6 · yang, solidout of placeno answer from 3LowerXunWindUpperQianHeavenKing Wen sequence · read bottom to topastrohot.com

Five lines are yang and one is yin. Two of the six stand in their proper place, and the pair 1–4 answers.

What the two trigrams do to each other

Inner and outer

Wind below — gentle penetration — is the private, inner side of hexagram 44.

Heaven above — creative force — 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 father sits above and the eldest daughter below. A parent over a child, which the tradition reads as guidance, authority or constraint depending on the rest of the figure.

Calculated from the lines

Hexagrams connected to hexagram 44

Hexagram 1, The Creative

Nuclear hexagram

1 · The Creative

What is happening beneath the surface.

Lines 2–4 give Qian (Heaven) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Qian (Heaven) as the upper.

Hexagram 24, Return

Opposite hexagram

24 · Return

The situation turned inside out.

Change all six lines and Heaven over Wind becomes Earth over Thunder.

Hexagram 43, Breakthrough

Inverse hexagram

43 · Breakthrough

The situation seen from the other side.

Turn the figure upside down and Heaven over Wind becomes Lake over Heaven.

None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.

The image

Heaven above, Wind below.

Heaven over Wind: creative force meeting gentle penetration.

← 43 · All 64 · 45 →

40 Deliverance 41 Decrease 42 Increase 43 Breakthrough 45 Gathering Together 46 Pushing Upward 47 Oppression

Sources

  1. James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 154

Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.

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