Hexagram 51 — Shake
King Wen #51 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds.
What Hexagram 51 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 51 places thunder (震) beneath thunder (震) — movement breaking out of stillness below, movement breaking out of stillness above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Shake”: thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
洊雷，震；君子以恐懼修省。
(The trigram representing) thunder, being repeated, forms Kăn. The superior man, in accordance with this, is fearful and apprehensive, cultivates (his virtue), and examines (his faults).— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Thunder upon thunder: shock. The wise, in fear and trembling, examine and set themselves right.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 51 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Shake describes thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds — 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 movement breaking out of stillness. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Shake about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds. 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 51
What does 震 (zhèn) mean?
Hexagram 51 of the I Ching is named 震 (zhèn), usually rendered "Shake" in English editions. Its figure is the doubled trigram thunder (震) — movement breaking out of stillness above and below.
Is hexagram 51 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 51 is warm: it contains one occurrence of 吉 (good fortune), 1 of 凶 (misfortune), and 1 of 無咎 (no blame). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached.
What does hexagram 51 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Shake points to thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds. The figure pairs thunder (震) beneath thunder (震) — movement breaking out of stillness meeting movement breaking out of stillness — 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 51 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Shake through the figure itself: thunder (震) below, thunder (震) above — movement breaking out of stillness held inside movement breaking out of stillness. The plain reading: Thunder over thunder: sudden shock. Keep calm within, and movement outside succeeds. The text carries 1 mention of 吉 (good fortune) and 1 of 凶 (misfortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 51 mean?
A cast of hexagram 51 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 51 gives hexagram 57, 巽 (Ground). 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 51 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 51 gives hexagram 57 — 巽 (Ground). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 52 — 艮 (Bound). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 39 — 蹇 (Limping).
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。震來虩虩，笑言啞啞。震驚百里，不喪匕鬯。
Zhen gives the intimation of ease and development. When (the time of) movement (which it indicates) comes, (the subject of the hexagram) will be found looking out with apprehension, and yet smiling and talking cheerfully. When the movement (like a crash of thunder) terrifies all within a hundred Li, he will be (like the sincere worshipper) who is not (startled into) letting go his ladle and (cup of) sacrificial spirits.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
震來虩虩，後笑言啞啞，吉。
The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject, when the movement approaches, looking out and around with apprehension, and afterwards smiling and talking cheerfully. There will be good fortune.
震來厲，億喪貝，躋于九陵，勿逐，七日得。
The second SIX, divided, shows its subject, when the movement approaches, in a position of peril. He judges it better to let go the articles (in his possession), and to ascend a very lofty height. There is no occasion for him to pursue after (the things he has let go); in seven days he will find them.
震蘇蘇，震行無眚。
The third six, divided, shows its subject distraught amid the startling movements going on. If those movements excite him to (right) action, there will be no mistake.
震遂泥。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject, amid the startling movements, supinely sinking (deeper) in the mud.
震往來，厲；億無喪，有事。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject going and coming amidst the startling movements (of the time), and always in peril; but perhaps he will not incur loss, and find business (which he can accomplish).
震索索，視矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其鄰，無咎。婚媾有言。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject, amidst the startling movements (of the time), in breathless dismay and looking round him with trembling apprehension. If he take action, there will be evil. If, while the startling movements have not reached his own person and his neighbourhood, (he were to take precautions), there would be no error, though his relatives might (still) speak against him.
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.