Hexagram 45 — Clustering
King Wen #45 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly.
What Hexagram 45 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 45 places earth (坤) beneath lake (兑) — receptive ground holding all things below, joy lifting what it touches above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Clustering”: gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
澤上於地，萃；君子以除戎器，戒不虞。
(The trigram representing the) earth and that for the waters of a marsh raised above it form Žhui. The superior man, in accordance with this, has his weapons of war put in good repair, to be prepared against unforeseen contingencies.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The marsh rises above the earth: gathering. The wise put weapons in order and guard against the unexpected.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 45 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Clustering describes gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: receptive ground holding all things, held inside a larger setting of joy lifting what it touches. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Clustering about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly. 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 45
What does 萃 (cuì) mean?
Hexagram 45 of the I Ching is named 萃 (cuì), usually rendered "Clustering" in English editions. Its figure is built from earth (坤) below and lake (兑) above — receptive ground holding all things beneath joy lifting what it touches.
Is hexagram 45 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 45 is warm: it contains 3 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune), and 6 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 45 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Clustering points to gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly. The figure pairs earth (坤) beneath lake (兑) — receptive ground holding all things meeting joy lifting what it touches — 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 45 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Clustering through the figure itself: earth (坤) below, lake (兑) above — receptive ground holding all things held inside joy lifting what it touches. The plain reading: Gathering together. Unity of people for a great purpose succeeds; prepare the assembly. The text carries 3 mentions of 吉 (good fortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 45 mean?
A cast of hexagram 45 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 45 gives hexagram 26, 大畜 (Great Accumulating). 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 45 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 45 gives hexagram 26 — 大畜 (Great Accumulating). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 46 — 升 (Ascending). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 53 — 漸 (Infiltrating).
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，王假有廟，利見大人，亨，利貞；用大牲吉，利有攸往。
In (the state denoted by) Cui, the king will repair to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous (also) to meet with the great man; and then there will be progress and success, though the advantage must come through firm correctness. The use of great victims will conduce to good fortune; and in whatever direction movement is made, it will be advantageous.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
有孚不終，乃亂乃萃；若號，一握為笑，勿恤，往無咎。
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.
引吉，無咎；孚乃利用禴。
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.
萃如，嗟如，無攸利；往無咎，小吝。
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.
大吉，無咎。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject in such a state that, if he be greatly fortunate, he will receive no blame.
萃有位，無咎；匪孚，元永貞，悔亡。
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.
齎諮涕洟，無咎。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject sighing and weeping; but there will be no error.
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.