初九：悔亡，丧马勿逐，自复；见恶人无咎。
Do not chase a temporarily lost connection in panic. Maintaining appropriate contact without hostility leaves room for misunderstanding to ease.
I Ching Hexagram 38
Kuí · Opposition
睽 · Hexagram 38
Kui concerns preserving workable connection between different directions. Fire rises while the Lake settles below; each has its nature. Difference does not automatically mean hostility. A modest shared action can accomplish more than a demand for complete agreement.
Upper trigram: Fire/Lí
Lower trigram: Lake/Duì
The situation you may be in
A close relationship may involve misunderstanding, or a partnership may reveal different aims and habits. Demanding that the other side become like you can turn a discussable difference into entrenched opposition.
How to respond
Name the difference and check whether a shared intention remains. Work on one achievable agreement at a time, allow differences that do not obstruct cooperation, and test suspicions against facts.
Judgment and Image
Judgment
睽：小事吉。
Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.
Image
上火下泽，睽；君子以同而异。
Fire above, lake below: Opposition. The superior person retains his individuality while seeking unity.
Applying it to real life
Love & relationships
Preferences, routines, and views need not all match. Respect and essential commitments matter more. Ask about a suspected motive rather than letting imagination settle the question.
Career & work
Begin limited cooperation across specialties or viewpoints with agreed standards. Keep differences tied to the work and facts rather than assigning faction labels or a difficult personality.
Choice & decisions
Separate harmless differences from those affecting essential commitments. Test coordination on small matters, while acknowledging a fundamental mismatch instead of enforcing apparent agreement.
Timing & pace
Small agreements suit the moment better than assuming complete union is ready. Reassess wider cooperation as misunderstandings are clarified and practical experience grows.
The six changing lines
The lines unfold from the bottom upward, describing one pattern of change from its first appearance to its extreme. If your reading has a changing line, begin with that position.
九二：遇主于巷，无咎。
When formal interaction fails, an appropriate informal encounter may open communication. Mutual understanding matters more than insisting on a particular form.
六三：见舆曳，其牛掣，其人天且劓，无初有终。
Mutual obstruction and a sense of injury do not determine the whole outcome. Address the actual barriers rather than treating a difficult beginning as the entire story.
九四：睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厉无咎。
A trustworthy encounter within isolation can begin connection. Remain careful without refusing every offer of support.
六五：悔亡，厥宗噬肤，往何咎。
A barrier within a familiar relationship may be easier to remove than expected. A sincere step toward reconciliation is now possible.
上九：睽孤，见豕负涂，载鬼一车，先张之弧，后说之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨则吉。
Isolation and fear can make an approach look threatening. Verify intentions and release unnecessary defense so that suspicion has a chance to become understanding.
A common misreading
Kui predicts neither inevitable separation nor that love can dissolve every difference. It preserves the possibility of meeting while asking how much can actually be undertaken together now.
Related hexagrams
Text and interpretation
Updated 12 September 2026Reviewed by MysticEast Research
This page preserves the Chinese Judgment, Image, and line texts of the received Zhouyi. MysticEast's modern explanations are newly written to emphasize stages of change and practical judgment rather than fixed good-or-bad predictions.
Read the Zhouyi at the Chinese Text ProjectLet the hexagram meet your actual question
A guide gives you the map. A cast made with a clear question can help locate the exact stage of change you are experiencing.