What is Lei Ze Gui Mei and where does it sit among the 64 hexagrams?
Lei Ze Gui Mei is hexagram 54 of the 64 I Ching hexagrams in the King Wen sequence, written in Chinese characters as 歸妹. The hexagram has Zhen ☳ above and Dui ☱ below, thunder over lake, eldest son over youngest daughter. The number 54 and the Chinese name 歸妹 are recorded in Wikipedia's list of the 64 hexagrams, and its placement after Feng Shan Jian (hexagram 53) appears in the Xu Gua (Treatise on the Sequence) and is repeated by reference sites such as Horos.
The hexagram has only one alternate name: Gui Mei. Some sites add a folk nickname, Duyen moc cau ngu (climbing a tree to look for fish), to indicate a scheme that cannot succeed, but this is an applied label, not a hexagram name in the classic text.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Ordinal number | 54 / 64 |
| Sino-Vietnamese name | Lôi Trạch Quy Muội (雷澤歸妹) |
| Outer trigram (upper) | Zhen ☳, thunder, eldest son |
| Inner trigram (lower) | Dui ☱, lake, youngest daughter |
| Hexagram image | Thunder over lake |
| Number of yang lines | 3 / 6 |
| Preceding hexagram | Feng Shan Jian (hexagram 53) |
Why does Gui Mei follow Jian?
The Xu Gua commentary, a later annotation recording the sequence of the 64 hexagrams, explains that Jian means advancing step by step in proper order, and that advancing must lead somewhere, so Gui Mei follows Jian. In other words, after a stage of moving step by step by the rules, the classic text places a hexagram describing the opposite situation: a bond formed hastily, out of order. The pair Jian then Gui Mei is a deliberate contrast in the compilers' arrangement.
One distinction matters: the Xu Gua is commentary, not the classic text itself. When we say why one hexagram follows another, we are citing the Xu Gua, not the words of the Duke of Zhou or King Wen.
What does the judgment of Lei Ze Gui Mei say?
The judgment (Tuan text) of the hexagram reads:
歸妹：征凶，無攸利
Gui Mei: Zheng xiong, wu you li.
Meaning: marrying off the younger sister, advancing brings misfortune, nothing is favorable. This is one of the heavy judgments in the I Ching. It promises no blessing, urges no fight, and states plainly that once the situation is out of place, pushing further only adds harm.
The historical setting of the judgment ties to the custom of a younger sister marrying into her elder sister's household as secondary wife, a real marriage practice of the Zhou era. The hexagram neither endorses nor condemns that custom. It records a real social situation and draws out a way of conduct. Gui Mei should not be read as a verdict on the reader's marriage today.
The Image and the lesson of holding oneself once out of place
The Image text reads:
澤上有雷，歸妹；君子以永終知敝
Ze shang you lei, Gui Mei; jun zi yi yong zhong zhi bi.
Meaning: thunder above the lake is the image of Gui Mei. The noble person takes it as a model to care for the long run and to know where things break down.
Thunder stirs the lake's surface, an image of entering a bond before the foundation is settled. The Image does not dream of smooth success; it tells you to look straight at the weak point and plan how to hold firm. This is the thread running through the hexagram: once in a position without initiative, what is needed is to know where you stand and prepare for the weakest spot.
The six line texts of Lei Ze Gui Mei and their readings
The six lines describe six ways of acting within a bond that is out of proper position. Below are the line texts in Sino-Vietnamese with their common meanings, based on the text at Horos and cross-checked against Wikipedia's list of the 64 hexagrams.
| Line | Original Sino-Vietnamese | Common meaning |
|---|---|---|
| First nine (line 1) | 歸妹以娣，跛能履，征吉 | Marrying off the younger sister as secondary wife, lame yet able to walk, advancing is auspicious |
| Second nine (line 2) | 眇能視，利幽人之貞 | One-eyed yet able to see, holding firm in the manner of a recluse is favorable |
| Third six (line 3) | 歸妹以須，反歸以娣 | The younger sister returns to waiting, comes back as secondary wife |
| Fourth nine (line 4) | 歸妹愆期，遲歸有時 | The younger sister misses the date, marries late but there is a proper time |
| Fifth six (line 5) | 帝乙歸妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良。月幾望，吉 | King Di Yi marries off his younger sister, the sleeve of the principal bride is less fine than the sleeve of the accompanying sister. The moon is nearly full, auspicious |
| Top six (line 6) | 女承筐無實，士刲羊無血，無攸利 | The woman holds an empty basket, the man kills a sheep with no blood, nothing is favorable |
Line 1 (First nine): a secondary wife who can still walk her road
A yang line at the lowest position, with no corresponding line above. This is a person who accepts a minor role, not a fine position, not the leading title. The foot is lame yet still steps forward, because the person knows how to walk rightly within their limits. The line says advancing is auspicious: knowing one's station and still doing good work brings a good result.
Line 2 (Second nine): one-eyed yet still seeing the road
A yang line in the central position. One eye is ruined, meaning part of the favorable conditions is lost, yet sight remains through the other eye. The line advises holding firm in the manner of a recluse: no noise, no demand for recognition, steady with what one knows to be right. This line teaches patience when circumstances are not as wished.
Line 3 (Third six): waiting, then returning as secondary wife
A yin line at the top of the inner trigram, neither central nor correct. The person here hopes high but in the end must accept a lower role. The line neither praises nor blames, only records. In I Ching reasoning, a person in this role should revisit their original expectations, because accepting reality early is usually easier than waiting long and only then accepting.
Line 4 (Fourth nine): missing the date but having a proper time later
A yang line in the outer trigram, with no corresponding line. The person here misses some deadline, but the line speaks of lateness that still has a proper time. The lesson is not to choose hastily, under time pressure, a place that does not fit.
Line 5 (Fifth six): King Di Yi marries off his younger sister
This is the ruling line of the hexagram, yin and yielding, properly corresponding with line 2. The line recalls King Di Yi of the Shang marrying off his younger sister. The elder sister on her wedding wears a plainer sleeve than even the younger sister attending her. This is the image of a person in a high role who knows how to yield. The moon is nearly full, an image of sufficiency without display. The line says it is auspicious. In a bond out of proper position, the one blessed is the one who, standing high, still steps back.
Line 6 (Top six): the woman holds an empty basket, the man kills a sheep with no blood
A yin line at the end of the hexagram, the heaviest text. The image is sharp: a wedding or sacrifice whose offerings are hollow, with no substance. This is a relationship that has only form left, no content, the ceremony done but the heart untrue. The line says plainly: nothing is favorable. An empty bond cannot go far, however grand the arrangement.
Gui Mei across areas of life
Application sites give readings by area, but the level of detail and the interpretations differ between sources. Below is a summary following the readings at Horos and tracuutuvi, with the note that this is common applied usage, not the classic text.
- Love: the hexagram is usually read as signaling a relationship with a problem of order, of haste, or of departing from the usual script. The core advice leans on lines 2 and 5: keep the heart upright, know how to yield, do not demand too much. Be wary of the line 6 situation: if only empty ritual remains, it is worth reconsidering.
- Career: a situation of entering work out of position, taking a role that does not really fit, joining a project with an unclear part. The way of line 1 is seen as the finest: accept your true station, do the assigned work well.
- Wealth: a lopsided financial tie, a contract where one side holds most of the gain. Line 6 carries a memorable warning about hollow agreements. This is applied advice, not a prediction about the reader's assets.
- Health: the hexagram is linked to yin-yang imbalance in the body and prolonged emotional strain. This is a symbolic reading, not a substitute for seeing a doctor and following qualified medical advice.
Where sources disagree on Gui Mei
Application sources differ on a few points. Some sites place Gui Mei among the inauspicious hexagrams and read it heavily; others stress the good lines (1, 2, 5) and hold that the hexagram only warns rather than condemns. The nickname Duyen moc cau ngu appears only on some application sites, not in the classic text. Even the meaning of the character Mu is explained differently: some books take it as younger sister, others stress the sense of a skewed position. This article follows the common reading: Gui Mei means marrying off the younger sister, and the core situation is entering a bond without holding the initiative.
One point to keep separate: Gui Mei should not be mixed with the Khong Minh Than Toan verse slips. The Khong Minh slips belong to a different divination book, not to the Zhou Yi line texts. The two systems may discuss a similar situation, but they do not replace each other.
The core lesson of Lei Ze Gui Mei
The clearest teaching lies in the image of line 5: the elder sister wears a plainer sleeve than the younger sister attending her. Gui Mei speaks of a bond out of proper position, yet even there the classic text points to the finest way to stand: the higher one's role, the more one needs to yield. Not every circumstance is chosen by us, but how we stand within it belongs to us. Once in a position of following, what is needed is to accept the true place, keep the heart upright, and prepare for the weakest point instead of pushing further.
The structure of Lei Ze Gui Mei in one table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Ordinal number in the Zhou Yi | 54 |
| Chinese name | 歸妹 |
| Upper trigram | Zhen (Thunder) |
| Lower trigram | Dui (Lake) |
| Six lines, top to bottom | yin, yin, yang, yin, yang, yang |
| Nuclear hexagram | Shui Huo Ji Ji (hexagram 63) |
| Reversed hexagram | Feng Shan Jian (hexagram 53) |
| Opposite hexagram | Feng Shan Jian (hexagram 53) |
Where do the six lines of Lei Ze Gui Mei sit, and which hexagram does each changing line produce?
The table reads from the first line (bottom) up to the top line. Line names combine position and nature: yang is called Jiu, yin is called Liu. The last column is the resulting hexagram when that line ALONE changes, calculated by the same method used in the casting tool of Nhat Nguyet.
| Line | Name | Nature | Correct position | Central | Correspondence | Changing to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Jiu | yang | yes | no | with line 4, no correspondence | Lei Shui Jie (hexagram 40) |
| 2 | Second Jiu | yang | no | yes | with line 5, correspondence | Chun Zhen (hexagram 51) |
| 3 | Third Liu | yin | no | no | with line 6, no correspondence | Lei Tian Da Zhuang (hexagram 34) |
| 4 | Fourth Jiu | yang | no | no | with line 1, no correspondence | Di Ze Lin (hexagram 19) |
| 5 | Fifth Liu | yin | no | yes | with line 2, correspondence | Chun Dui (hexagram 58) |
| 6 | Top Liu | yin | yes | no | with line 3, no correspondence | Huo Ze Kui (hexagram 38) |
