Hexagram 24 — Returning
King Wen #24 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
The turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time.
What Hexagram 24 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 24 places thunder (震) beneath earth (坤) — movement breaking out of stillness below, receptive ground holding all things above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Returning”: the turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
雷在地中，復；先王以至日閉關，商旅不行，后不省方。
(The trigram representing) the earth and that for thunder in the midst of it form Fû. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, on the day of the (winter) solstice, shut the gates of the passes (from one state to another), so that the travelling merchants could not (then) pursue their journeys, nor the princes go on with the inspection of their states.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Thunder stirs within the earth: return. Ancient kings closed the passes at the solstice; merchants did not travel, and the ruler did not tour.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 24 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Returning describes the turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: movement breaking out of stillness, held inside a larger setting of receptive ground holding all things. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Returning about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: the turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time. When lines move in your cast, read them against this base — the moving lines show which part of the figure is awake for you, and the changed hexagram shows where it is heading.
Questions About Hexagram 24
What does 復 (fù) mean?
Hexagram 24 of the I Ching is named 復 (fù), usually rendered "Returning" in English editions. Its figure is built from thunder (震) below and earth (坤) above — movement breaking out of stillness beneath receptive ground holding all things.
Is hexagram 24 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 24 is warm: it contains 2 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune), 2 of 凶 (misfortune), and 2 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached (the text notes possible regret 悔 where the moment is mishandled).
What does hexagram 24 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Returning points to the turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time. The figure pairs thunder (震) beneath earth (坤) — movement breaking out of stillness meeting receptive ground holding all things — which is the traditional picture of how this energy behaves between two people. For how to phrase a love question before casting, see our guide to asking the I Ching about love.
What does hexagram 24 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Returning through the figure itself: thunder (震) below, earth (坤) above — movement breaking out of stillness held inside receptive ground holding all things. The plain reading: The turning point. The light returns of itself; act gently and at the natural time. The text carries 2 mentions of 吉 (good fortune) and 2 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 24 mean?
A cast of hexagram 24 can produce moving lines. Each of the six lines has its own statement (爻辭) in the classical text below, read from the bottom up, and a moving line is read as the part of the figure that is awake for your question. When a line moves it turns into its opposite, and the whole figure becomes a second hexagram: changing every line of 24 gives hexagram 44, 姤 (Coupling). Every line also has a page of its own on this site — Line 1 through Line 6 under this hexagram — with the classical Chinese and Legge's translation side by side.
How is hexagram 24 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 24 gives hexagram 44 — 姤 (Coupling). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 23 — 剝 (Stripping). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 2 — 坤 (Field).
Cast it yourself
Shake the tube, watch your own coins fall.
- The hexagram's classical meaning — judgment and all six lines
- Moving lines marked — but not read for you
- No account, no email, nothing to pay
Get the reading, not just the text
Same cast, read all the way through:
- Every line read for you — what each moving line means inside your question
- The changed hexagram — where your situation is heading, and how to read the turn
- A closing that answers you directly — act, wait, or say it out loud
New to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
The Classical Text 經文
亨。出入無疾，朋來無咎。反覆其道，七日來復，利有攸往。
Fu indicates that there will be free course and progress (in what it denotes). (The subject of it) finds no one to distress him in his exits and entrances; friends come to him, and no error is committed . He will return and repeat his (proper) course. In seven days comes his return. There will be advantage in whatever direction movement is made.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
不遠復，無祗悔，元吉。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject returning (from an error) of no great extent, which would not proceed to anything requiring repentance. There will be great good fortune.
休復，吉。
The second SIX, divided, shows the admirable return (of its subject). There will be good fortune.
頻復，厲無咎。
The third SIX, divided, shows one who has made repeated returns. The position is perilous, but there will be no error.
中行獨復。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject moving right in the centre (among those represented by the other divided lines), and yet returning alone (to his proper path).
敦復，無悔。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows the noble return of its subject. There will be no ground for repentance.
迷復，凶，有災眚。用行師，終有大敗；以其國，君凶，至于十年不克征。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject all astray on the subject of returning. There will be evil. There will be calamities and errors. If with his views he put the hosts in motion, the end will be a great defeat, whose issues will extend to the ruler of the state. Even in ten years he will not be able to repair the disaster.
Line by Line 逐爻细读
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text.2 The Image (象傳) is an ancient text in the public domain; its plain-English gloss here is original to The Hexagrams, not a quotation from any copyrighted edition. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.