I Ching hexagram 57
Hexagram 57: Xun
Wind · 巽為風 · Wind above, Wind below
Gentle persistence gets in like wind slipping through every gap, and it helps to consult someone wiser.
What this hexagram is about
Persuading or teaching works through steady, soft pressure applied again and again, the way wind slips into every small opening. Xun (Wind) is the hexagram of that gentle kind of influence.
A way to think about it
Where in your life would patient, gentle repetition work best? And who could give you a steadier view of your plan before you set out?
The text, with Legge's translation
Judgment
小亨。利有攸往。利見大人。
Sun intimates that (under the conditions which it denotes) there will be some little attainment and progress. There will be advantage in movement onward in whatever direction. It will be advantageous (also) to see the great man.
Only a small success is on offer, since gentle influence takes time. Going ahead with a plan is a good idea, and it helps to consult a wise and capable person.
Image
隨風，巽；君子以申命行事。
(Two trigrams representing) wind, following each other, form Sun. The superior man, in accordance with this, reiterates his orders, and secures the practice of his affairs.
Line 1 · 初六
進退，利武人之貞。
The first line, divided, shows its subject (now) advancing, (now) receding. It would be advantageous for him to have the firm correctness of a brave soldier.
Going forward and back again, you cannot decide. It helps to borrow the firm discipline of a soldier.
Line 2 · 九二
巽在牀下，用史巫紛若，吉无咎。
The second line, undivided, shows the representative of Sun beneath a couch, and employing diviners and exorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error.
You bow so low you end up under the bed, and you call in scribes and priests in great numbers. Done sincerely and from the center, it works out and no fault attaches.
Line 3 · 九三
頻巽，吝。
The third line, undivided, shows its subject penetrating (only) by violent and repeated efforts. There will be occasion for regret.
Giving in again and again, each time reluctantly, wears away your dignity and leaves some embarrassment.
Line 4 · 六四
悔亡，田獲三品。
The fourth line, divided, shows all occasion for repentance (in its subject) passed away. He takes game for its threefold use in his hunting.
The regret has passed. A gentle approach that works with the people above and below you brings a full haul, like a hunt that yields three kinds of game.
Line 5 · 九五
貞吉悔亡，无不利。无初有終，先庚三日，後庚三日，吉。
The fifth line, undivided, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (to its subject). All occasion for repentance will disappear, and all his movements will be advantageous. There may have been no (good) beginning, but there will be a (good) end. Three days before making any changes, (let him give notice of them); and three days after, (let him reconsider them). There will (thus) be good fortune.
Steady conduct goes well, and nothing works against you. It may start poorly yet finish well, if you think a change over for three days beforehand and review it for three days after.
Line 6 · 上九
巽在牀下，喪其資斧，貞凶。
The sixth line, undivided, shows the representative of penetration beneath a couch, and having lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he may (try to) be, there will be evil.
You bow so low you end up under the bed again, and now you lose your money and the axe that stands for decisiveness. Staying on this path is a bad sign.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi, public domain. English: James Legge, The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882), public domain. Plain notes written by this site.
Questions
I cast hexagram 57. Which text do I read?
With no changing lines, read the judgment: "Sun intimates that (under the conditions which it denotes) there will be some little attainment and progress. There will be advantage in movement onward in whatever direction. It will be advantageous (also) to see the great man." With changing lines, read the lines that changed. When several change at once, Zhu Xi's rules decide which text leads, and the casting page marks it for you.
What are the nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams of Xun?
The nuclear hexagram is 38. Kui (Estrangement). The opposite is 51. Zhen (Thunder). The inverted hexagram is 58. Dui (Lake).