Holding Together 比
Holding Together shows water spreading over the earth. It is time to join others around a worthy center, choose your bonds well and not come late.
Judgment
Holding together brings good fortune. Ask yourself once more whether you have greatness, constancy and perseverance; if so, there is no blame. Those who are uncertain join little by little, but the one who comes too late meets with loss.
Image
There is water upon the earth; this is the picture of holding together. The ancient kings divided the land into regions and formed friendly ties with the lords; the wise person builds equally firm ties with those around them.
What does Holding Together mean?
Water spreads over the earth and fills every gap. There is no separation between the two. This is a situation where people gather around a center and lean on one another. Either the time has come for you to join a community, a relationship or a project, or you are in a position to gather others around you. Staying alone does not gain you much in this period. Strength grows among people who rely on each other.
For the bond to be sound, the person at the center must be worthy of it. If you are the one bringing people together, look at yourself honestly: are you consistent, are you trustworthy, do you think in the long term? If you are the one joining, be careful whom you bind yourself to. A union with the wrong people brings harm. Timing matters too. If you hesitate too long while an opportunity or a group is forming, the door may close. When you approach with sincere trust and openness, people come to your side on their own, and the bond grows stronger with time. Once a union is formed, it still needs care. Keep your word, be there when you are needed and do not let small hurts grow. Trust is built slowly but broken quickly.
What to do now
Be careful whom you join, and join without delay.
Love and relationships
A good time for commitment and closeness. Making the relationship official or making a deeper promise may come up. But before you commit, make sure your partner is truly trustworthy.
Work and money
A good period for partnerships, building a team and growing your network. Joining a leader or an organization you trust pays off. Do not let the opportunity wait too long; those who come late may be left outside.
The lines
If a line changed (red) in your reading, read only that line. Lines are counted from the bottom up.
- First line
Hold to them with sincerity and loyalty. Real sincerity, like a bowl filled to the brim, in the end brings good fortune from outside as well.
- Second line
Holding together from within. If you bind yourself from the heart without losing your own worth, perseverance brings good fortune.
- Third line
Holding together with the wrong people. Clinging to a circle that does not suit you brings sorrow; keep your distance.
- Fourth line
Holding together outwardly. It is good to show your loyalty openly to the worthy person at the center and to persevere.
- Fifth line
Open holding together. In the hunt the king drives game from three sides only and lets go the animals that run ahead; accepting those who come freely brings good fortune.
- Top line
Holding together without a head. If you did not join at the right time, or the union has no center, the end is bad.
Trigrams
deep, dangerous
receptive, yielding
Related hexagrams
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