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Hexagram 38: Opposition
睽 · Kuí
Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.Judgment 卦辭
Above, fire; below, the lake: the image of Opposition. The superior man is different in all he does but united in kinship with all.Image 象辭
Core Meaning of Hexagram 38
Hexagram 38 is divergence — fire flaming up while the lake seeps down: natures that pull apart. Estrangement, mismatched partners, the odd one out. The wisdom is in the judgment’s restraint: only in small matters is there fortune. Do not force grand reconciliation between what is genuinely different; find the tiny, concrete cooperation instead.
Hexagram 38 in a Reading
In a reading, you and another (or your situation and your wishes) are structurally at odds. Accept the difference without animus — opposition is not betrayal. Lower the stakes: cooperate on the small, the practical, the immediate, and let the big divergence rest. In time, small good faith between contraries can become an odd, durable friendship — but it starts small or not at all.
Common Questions
What does hexagram 38 mean?
Hexagram 38 is divergence — fire flaming up while the lake seeps down: natures that pull apart. Read the full meaning above, or cast your own reading with our free online I Ching coins.
What is the structure of hexagram 38?
Hexagram 38 is built from the trigram Fire above and Lake below — binary 110101 read from the bottom line to the top. Opposition is King Wen number 38 of the 64 hexagrams.
Related Hexagrams
Other Hexagrams with Trigram Fire Above
Keywords: i ching hexagram 38, hexagram 38 meaning, opposition, kui, fire over lake, divergence, estrangement, differences, contrary