初
初六。官有渝、貞吉。出門交有功。
Changing roles—correctness is lucky. Venturing out and connecting brings results.
䷐
Hexagram 17
Following (沢雷随)
Takurai-zui / Suí
Following the times brings growth. Adapt and respond rather than resist.
Judgment
随。元亨利貞、无咎。
Following. Great success; benefit in correctness; no blame.
Rightly following leads to broad development. Read the times and stay flexible.
Line-by-Line (Yao)
Interpretations if the line changes.
二
六二。系小子、失丈夫。
Clinging to the small makes you lose the greater. Avoid petty attachments.
三
九三。系丈夫、失小子。随有求、得、利居貞。
Hold to the greater, let go of the lesser. Seeking rightly, you gain; uprightness benefits.
四
九四。随有獲、貞凶。有孚在道、以明、何咎。
Following yields gains, but correctness can still bring trouble. With sincere clarity on the way, blame dissolves.
五
九五。孚于嘉、吉。
Trust in what is excellent—good fortune.
上
上六。拘系之、乃従維之。王用亨于西山。
Bound and constrained, then following. The king offers sacrifice on the western hill—ritual alignment restores flow.
Practical Reading: Love, Career, Health & Decisions
When you cast Hexagram 17, Suí (Following), the Book of Changes shows you a situation with Dui (Lake) above and Zhen (Thunder) below. Following the times brings growth. Adapt and respond rather than resist. Use the cards below to map that pattern onto your specific question — a love reading, a career decision, a health concern, or a yes/no choice.
Love & Relationships
Be adaptable to your partner; avoid pushing your way. In a love or relationship reading, Hexagram 17 (Suí) describes the meeting point of Dui (lake) above and Zhen (thunder) below: how the outer situation meets your inner state. Ask whether you are forcing the relationship to fit a picture, or letting it move at the rhythm this hexagram suggests. For a partnered question, read the changing lines to see which side — yours or the other person's — is being asked to shift.
Work & Career
Follow leadership and trends to succeed; don’t cling rigidly. In work and career, Suí points to whether the outer market or workplace (Dui (lake)) and your inner stance (Zhen (thunder)) are in alignment. If a project, negotiation, or job change is the question, ask what this hexagram says about timing rather than effort: pushing harder rarely changes a Suí situation; reading the configuration usually does.
Health & Wellbeing
Adjust to bodily changes; natural methods over extremes. For a body or wellness reading, treat the lines of Hexagram 17 as descriptions of phases, not diagnoses. Suí usually signals where energy needs to be conserved versus where it is asking to be expressed. Combine the hexagram's advice with concrete medical guidance — the I Ching is a reflective tool, not a substitute for professional care.
Decision-Making
When the question is a yes/no — should I take the offer, move, leave, commit? — read Hexagram 17 (Suí, Following) as a statement about the configuration of your situation rather than the outcome. The summary "Following the times brings growth. Adapt and respond rather than resist." is your starting frame. Ask: does this action respect that configuration, or fight it? Changing lines, if any, tell you which specific aspect needs to bend.
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