歸妹
Guī Mèi · The Marrying Maiden
A subordinate position can be honest work; a forced promotion of it cannot.
The judgment
歸妹：征凶，無攸利。
The marrying maiden. Marching forward brings misfortune; there is nothing to gain: the position is secondary and the timing is wrong.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex54.judgment.
The image
象曰：澤上有雷，歸妹。君子以永終知敝。
Thunder over the lake: the marrying maiden. A capable person looks to the end and sees where things will wear out.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex54.image.
A subordinate position can be honest work; a forced promotion of it cannot.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初九 歸妹以娣，跛能履，征吉。 The maiden marries as a younger sister. Lame, but still able to walk: going forward is lucky.
The maiden marries as a younger sister. Lame, but still able to walk: going forward is lucky.
九二 眇能視，利幽人之貞。 One-eyed, but still able to see. It is favorable for a quiet person to stay true.
One-eyed, but still able to see. It is favorable for a quiet person to stay true.
六三 歸妹以須，反歸以娣。 The maiden waits as a servant, then returns to marry as a younger sister. The position is lowered, and that is the honest place.
The maiden waits as a servant, then returns to marry as a younger sister. The position is lowered, and that is the honest place.
九四 歸妹愆期，遲歸有時。 The maiden misses the date. The late marriage has its own time: delay is not refusal.
The maiden misses the date. The late marriage has its own time: delay is not refusal.
六五 帝乙歸妹，其君之袂，不如其娣之袂良，月幾望，吉。 The emperor gives his daughter. Her sleeves are not as fine as the younger sister's; the moon is nearly full. Good fortune: the plain one is the one that holds.
The emperor gives his daughter. Her sleeves are not as fine as the younger sister's; the moon is nearly full. Good fortune: the plain one is the one that holds.
上六 女承筐無實，士刲羊無血，無攸利。 The woman holds a basket with nothing in it; the man kills a sheep and there is no blood. Nothing to gain: the form is there and the substance is not.
The woman holds a basket with nothing in it; the man kills a sheep and there is no blood. Nothing to gain: the form is there and the substance is not.