38 · King Wen sequence
Hexagram 38: Opposition
睽 · Kuí · upper Fire over lower Lake
Fire rises while the lake sinks: two natures moving in opposite directions.
The reading
Opposition is the hexagram of principled divergence. Fire flames upward while lake water sinks down: two natures that cannot meet, yet must coexist. This is the partnership of opposites, the colleagues who see everything differently, the family split by conviction. The hexagram does not promise harmony. It promises something more useful: that in small, concrete things, even the opposed can cooperate. Shared tasks, clear boundaries, and mutual non-interference keep the peace.
Do not attempt the great undertaking with those fundamentally opposed to you; that is where this hexagram warns. Instead, narrow the scope: agree on the small and practical, and let the great differences rest. Keep your own integrity intact; opposition is no reason to abandon your way. Handled wisely, difference becomes a resource: the other side sees what you cannot. Work the small things well, and the opposition softens without ever needing to disappear.
The image
Fire blazes upward while the lake's waters sink down. The wise stay themselves amid difference, neither forcing agreement nor abandoning their own way.
Differ in small things; do not pretend at great unity.
When you cast this hexagram
- Still navigating a split with someone you must coexist with.
- Cooperating on the small things while disagreeing on the great.
- Finally releasing the need to make them agree with you.
- Calmly staying yourself amid difference, without forcing agreement or surrender.
In love and relationships
In love, Opposition describes the couple that differs fundamentally yet stays together. Do not try to convert each other; forced unity in great matters only breeds resentment. Instead, build the small shared life: the practical routines, the daily kindnesses, the tasks you can do side by side. Keep your own integrity; love is no reason to abandon your way. Handled with mutual respect, difference becomes interesting rather than corrosive. Work the small things well, and the opposition softens.
In work and career
At work, Opposition is the team that cannot agree on the big picture. Do not waste energy forcing alignment on vision or values; that battle cannot be won. Narrow the scope to the concrete: shared tasks, clear deliverables, defined boundaries. Let each side keep its own way while cooperating on the small things. Often the friction itself is productive, each side catching what the other misses. Manage the difference with respect, work the practical well, and results will come despite the divide.
When you have a decision to make
When a real decision is on the table, Opposition warns against deciding the great matter with divided parties. Do not force a grand agreement that is not there; it will collapse. Instead, decide the small and practical things you can actually agree on, and let the larger differences rest. Keep your own counsel and your own integrity through the process. The right decision here narrows the scope: settle what is workable now, and leave the fundamental divide for another season.
The six changing lines
Read only the lines that came up moving in your own cast. If none did, stay with the hexagram as a whole. Each line below links to the hexagram that line turns into.
Suspicion clouds the top: ghosts and mud where none exist. Lower the drawn bow; those feared as robbers come as suitors, and rain brings good fortune.
Regret vanishes as you reconcile with your own kin. The bite goes only skin-deep; go forward and there is no blame.
Lonely amid opposition, you meet a true-hearted ally. Mutual trust forms despite the danger; hold to it and there is no blame.
Dragged and blocked, even shamed, at this stage. The start is wretched, yet there is an end to it; endure and it resolves.
You meet the one you need in a back alley, not the grand hall. Humble, unplanned encounters carry no blame; take them as they come.
Regret vanishes when you stop chasing the lost horse; it returns on its own. Meet even the difficult person; there is no blame in the encounter.
How it relates to the other hexagrams
These links are derived from the line structure, not from editorial opinion. Flip a line, reverse the stack, or read the inner lines, and you land on a specific neighbour.
Nuclear · 互卦
Lines 2–4 and 3–5 of this hexagram form another one. It is the inner situation — what is really going on underneath what you were asking about.
Complementary · 错卦
Every line flips. This is the exact opposite stance: the position you are not taking, which is often the thing the reading is contrasting you with.
Inverse · 综卦
Turn the whole stack upside down and you get this. The same circumstance seen from the other end — usually the person on the other side of it.
If one line changes
Same upper or lower trigram
Scholar's details
| Number | 38 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Binary (bottom → top) | 110101 (1 = yang, 0 = yin) |
| Upper trigram | ☲ 离 Lí — Fire, Fire, Middle Daughter |
| Lower trigram | ☱ 兑 Duì — Lake, Metal, Youngest Daughter |
| Key ideas | opposition, difference, boundaries, cooperation, integrity, patience |
Have a question of your own?
This page tells you what the hexagram means. A casting tells you which one you are actually in.