I Ching hexagram 58
Hexagram 58: Dui
Lake · 兌為澤 · Lake above, Lake below
Real pleasure is shared between people and stays honest, the way friends learn by talking together.
What this hexagram is about
Two lakes join in Dui (Lake), each topping up the other, a picture of good company and easy talk. The hexagram asks whether that pleasure rests on honest ground or on flattery and appetite.
A way to think about it
Who do you enjoy being around, and what do you learn from each other? Check whether the good feeling holds up when the conversation turns to something uncomfortable.
The text, with Legge's translation
Judgment
亨。利貞。
Tui intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and attainment. (But) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Joy brings progress, and it pays to stay steady and correct. The second part matters, because pleasure that ignores what is right turns into flattery.
Image
麗澤，兌；君子以朋友講習。
(Two symbols representing) the waters of a marsh, one over the other, form Tui. The superior man, in accordance with this, (encourages) the conversation of friends and (the stimulus of) their (common) practice.
Line 1 · 初九
和兌，吉。
The first line, undivided, shows the pleasure of (inward) harmony. There will be good fortune.
Pleasure that is easy and in harmony with the people around you, with no private angle behind it, is the right way to begin.
Line 2 · 九二
孚兌，吉，悔亡。
The second line, undivided, shows the pleasure arising from (inward) sincerity. There will be good fortune. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
Your joy comes from inner sincerity, so the nearby pull toward flattery does not sway you. That works out well, and any regret fades.
Line 3 · 六三
來兌，凶。
The third line, divided, shows its subject bringing round himself whatever can give pleasure. There will be evil.
Flattering your way into other people's favor is a poor way to chase pleasure, and the line counts it as misfortune.
Line 4 · 九四
商兌，未寧，介疾有喜。
The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject deliberating about what to seek his pleasure in, and not at rest. He borders on what would be injurious, but there will be cause for joy.
Weighing which pleasures to pursue, you cannot settle. When you draw a firm line against the one that harms you, gladness follows.
Line 5 · 九五
孚于剝，有厲。
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject trusting in one who would injure him. The situation is perilous.
You trust someone who is wearing you down, a pleasing voice that strips away what you have. The position is dangerous.
Line 6 · 上六
引兌。
The topmost line, divided, shows the pleasure of its subject in leading and attracting others.
You try to draw the people below into your pleasure and lead them along, with no certainty that they will follow.
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 58. Which text do I read?
With no changing lines, read the judgment: "Tui intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and attainment. (But) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct." 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 Dui?
The nuclear hexagram is 37. Jia Ren (The Household). The opposite is 52. Gen (Mountain). The inverted hexagram is 57. Xun (Wind).