Hexagram 31: Mutual Attraction
Outer trigram (upper)
Đoài
Marsh · Metal
Inner trigram (lower)
Cấn
Mountain · Earth
Judgment
咸：亨，利貞，取女吉.
Translation
Xian (mutual influence): success, favorable to hold to what is correct; taking a wife brings good fortune.
Commentary
Dui above is the lake (joy), Gen below is the mountain (stillness). The mountain sits beneath the lake, supporting it, while the lake's waters seep down into the mountain — the two respond to each other. The three yang lines below and the three yin lines above form an image of yang seeking yin and yin responding to yang, like a man and a woman drawn to each other. Xian is influence without deliberate intent — a natural, spontaneous responsiveness.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yin)
初六：咸其拇.
Translation
The influence is felt in the big toe.
Commentary
Line 1 sits at the very bottom; the influence has only reached the toe — still faint and slight, not yet enough to act on.
Line 2 (yin)
六二：咸其腓，凶；居吉.
Translation
The influence is felt in the calf — misfortune; remaining still brings good fortune.
Commentary
Line 2, yin, holds the center. The influence has reached the calf, which wants to move on its own. But the calf must wait for the thigh to lead — it should not act rashly, and staying still brings good fortune.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：咸其股，執其隨，往吝.
Translation
The influence is felt in the thigh, which only wants to follow along — pressing forward brings regret.
Commentary
Line 3, yang, does not hold the center. The influence has reached the thigh, which must follow the leg and has no will of its own — like a person without independent judgment who simply follows others, and comes to regret it.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：貞吉悔亡；憧憧往來，朋從爾思.
Translation
Holding to what is correct brings good fortune and regret vanishes; but restless, anxious coming and going draws only friends who mirror one's own scattered thoughts.
Commentary
Line 4, yang, holds a correct position and represents the heart at the center of the hexagram. Holding to what is correct brings good fortune. But if the heart is restless and unsettled, it draws only companions of a like unsettled kind.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：咸其脢，无悔.
Translation
The influence is felt in the back — no regret.
Commentary
Line 5, yang, holds the center. The influence reaches the back, a place not swayed by passing feeling (the back cannot see what is in front of it), and so it holds steady to the center — no regret.
Line 6 (yin)
上六：咸其輔，頰，舌.
Translation
The influence is felt in the jaw, the cheeks, the tongue.
Commentary
Line 6, yin, sits at the very top; the influence has narrowed to mere talk — much speech with no substance behind it, the shallowest form of influence.