Hexagram 38: Opposition
Outer trigram (upper)
Ly
Fire · Fire
Inner trigram (lower)
Đoài
Marsh · Metal
Judgment
睽：小事吉.
Translation
Estrangement (divergence, discord): good fortune in small matters.
Commentary
Li above represents fire, Dui below represents a marsh. Fire rises upward while water flows downward — the two move in opposite directions. Line 2, yang, and line 5, yin, correspond to each other, yet a yang line sits in the (normally yin) lower trigram and a yin line in the (normally yang) upper trigram — a reversal of the usual pattern. In a time of estrangement, only small undertakings can succeed.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：悔亡，喪馬，勿逐，自復．見惡人，无咎.
Translation
Regret vanishes. If a horse is lost, do not chase it — it will return on its own. Meeting a disagreeable person brings no blame.
Commentary
Line 1, yang, holds the correct position. If a horse is lost — a companion drifts away — there is no need to worry, since it will return on its own. Even meeting a disagreeable person is worthwhile, since it lets one recognize and avoid them; there is no blame.
Line 2 (yang)
九二：遇主于巷，无咎.
Translation
Meeting one's lord in a back alley; no blame.
Commentary
Line 2, yang, holds the central position. In a time of estrangement, a formal meeting is impossible, so the encounter must happen informally, in a back alley. Though this does not follow ordinary protocol, it suits the moment — no blame.
Line 3 (yin)
六三：見輿曳，其牛掣；其人天且劓，无初有終.
Translation
One sees the cart held back, the ox reined in; the person suffers branding on the forehead and the cutting of the nose. No good beginning, but a good end.
Commentary
Line 3, yin, holds neither the center nor the correct position, and meets many obstacles — the cart held back, the ox restrained — along with severe hardship, symbolized by punishment. But because it corresponds with line 6, it eventually succeeds in meeting it.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厲无咎.
Translation
Alone in a time of estrangement, one meets a worthy companion, and trust grows between them. Danger, but no blame.
Commentary
Line 4, yang, holds neither the center nor the correct position, isolated in this time of estrangement. Yet it meets line 1, a worthy companion, and mutual trust develops between them; despite the danger, there is no blame.
Line 5 (yin)
六五：悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往，何咎.
Translation
Regret vanishes; a kinsman bites through the flesh with ease. Moving forward brings no blame at all.
Commentary
Line 5, yin, holds the central position at the place of honor and corresponds with line 2. A companion of similar kind (yang) joins with it easily, like biting through soft flesh, so moving forward brings no blame at all.
Line 6 (yang)
上九：睽孤，見豕負塗，載鬼一車．先張之弧，後說之弧，匪寇，婚媾．往遇雨則吉.
Translation
Alone in estrangement, one sees a mud-caked pig, a cart that looks full of demons. First the bow is drawn, then it is lowered — these are not raiders, but a party come to propose marriage. Going forward and meeting rain brings good fortune.
Commentary
Line 6, yang, corresponds with line 3, but suspicion arises first, seeing something strange and unsettling. Only afterward does it become clear that this is no enemy but a friend, come to propose marriage. When yin and yang unite in harmony, symbolized by rain, the outcome is good.