Gathering Together (Massing)
Lake (兌 Duì) above, Earth (坤 Kūn) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 45, 萃 (Cuì), represents Gathering Together (Massing).
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 45 (萃 Cuì). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/cui). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
萃：亨。王假有廟，利見大人，亨，利貞。用大牲吉，利有攸往。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Success. The king approaches the ancestral temple. It is favorable to see a great person; success; steadfastness is favorable. Using a great sacrificial animal brings good fortune. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
泽上于地,萃。君子以除戎器,戒不虞。
James Legge: (The trigram representing the) earth and that for the waters of a marsh raised above it form Zhui. The superior man, in accordance with this, has his weapons of war put in good repair, to be prepared against unforeseen contingencies.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初六：有孚不終，乃亂乃萃，若號一握為笑，勿恤，往无咎。
James Legge: The first SIX, divided, shows its subject with a sincere desire (for union), but unable to carry it out, so that disorder is brought into the sphere of his union. If he cry out (for help to his proper correlate), all at once (his tears) will give place to smiles. He need not mind (the temporary difficulty); as he goes forward, there will be no error.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：引吉，无咎，孚乃利用禴。
James Legge: The second SIX, divided, shows its subject led forward (by his correlate). There will be good fortune, and freedom from error. There is entire sincerity, and in that case (even the small offerings of) the vernal sacrifice are acceptable.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
六三：萃如，嗟如，无攸利，往无咎，小吝。
James Legge: The third SIX, divided, shows its subject striving after union and seeming to sigh, yet nowhere finding any advantage. If he go forward, he will not err, though there may be some small cause for regret.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
九四：大吉，无咎。
James Legge: The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject in such a state that, if he be greatly fortunate, he will receive no blame.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
九五：萃有位，无咎。匪孚，元永貞，悔亡。
James Legge: The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the union (of all) under its subject in the place of dignity. There will be no error. If any do not have confidence in him, let him see to it that (his virtue) be great, long-continued, and firmly correct, and all occasion for repentance will disappear.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上六：齎咨涕洟，无咎。
James Legge: The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject sighing and weeping; but there will be no error.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
Gathering Together can prompt a careful question about assembly: what brings people together here, and does the gathering have a center that holds it? Water collecting on the earth reads here as the figure's picture of convergence.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
Nothing predicts whether any group, event, or coalition holds. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 45 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.