huànAlso known as “Dispersion” (Wilhelm/Baynes) and “Hwân” (Legge)
dispersiondissolutionreunion
In plain words
Wind over water: dispersing. Success; the king approaches the temple; favourable to cross the great river — scattering rigidity, selfishness and division so that people regroup around something shared.
The attitude it asks for
Dissolve the blockage — ego, faction, hoarded resources — and rebuild on a larger, shared foundation.
Hwân intimates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. The king goes to his ancestral temple; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Commentary on the Judgment
渙，亨。剛來而不窮，柔得位乎外而上同。王假有廟，王乃在中也。利涉大川，乘木有功也。
'Hwân intimates that there will be progress and success:'—(we see) the strong line (in the second place) of the lower trigram, and not suffering any extinction there; and (also) the weak line occupying its place in the outer trigram, and uniting (its action) with that of the line above.
'The king goes to his ancestral temple:'—the king's (mind) is without any deflection.
'It will be advantageous to cross the great stream:'—(the subject of the hexagram) rides in (a vessel of) wood (over water), and will do so with success.
The Image
風行水上，渙；先王以享于帝立廟。
(The trigram representing) water and that for wind moving above the water form Hwân. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, presented offerings to God and established the ancestral temple.
爻辭 The six lines
When one line moves, the hexagram becomes another:
上九Nine at the top
渙其血，去逖出，无咎。
The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject disposing of (what may be called) its bloody wounds, and going and separating himself from its anxious fears. There will be no error.
Its symbolism
渙其血，遠害也。
'His bloody wounds are gone:'—he is far removed from the danger of injury.
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject amidst the dispersion issuing his great announcements as the perspiration (flows from his body). He scatters abroad (also) the accumulations in the royal granaries. There will be no error.
Its symbolism
王居无咎，正位也。
'The accumulations of the royal (granaries) are dispersed, and there is no error:'—this is due to the correctness of the position.
The fourth line, divided, shows its subject scattering the (different) parties (in the state); which leads to great good fortune. From the dispersion (he collects again good men standing out, a crowd) like a mound, which is what ordinary men would not have thought of.
Its symbolism
渙其群，元吉；光大也。
'He scatters the (different) parties (in the state), and there is great good fortune:'—brilliant and great (are his virtue and service).
The second line, undivided, shows its subject, amid the dispersion, hurrying to his contrivance (for security). All occasion for repentance will disappear.
Its symbolism
渙奔其机，得愿也。
'Amidst the prevailing dispersion, he hurries to his contrivance (for security):'—he gets what he desires.
The first line, divided, shows its subject engaged in rescuing (from the impending evil) and having (the assistance of) a strong horse. There will be good fortune.
Its symbolism
初六之吉，順也。
'The good fortune attached to the first line, divided,' is due to the natural course (pursued by its subject).
Shown in the classical Chinese with James Legge's English (1882).
Questions about this hexagram
What does Hexagram 59, Dispersing, mean?
Wind over water: dispersing. Success; the king approaches the temple; favourable to cross the great river — scattering rigidity, selfishness and division so that people regroup around something shared.
Which trigrams form Dispersing?
巽 above 坎 — wind over water. Its nuclear hexagram (lines 2–5) is 頤 Jaws / Nourishment.
What happens when a line of Dispersing changes?
A moving line turns the hexagram into another one; the list above shows all six. With several moving lines, the guide to changing lines explains which text to read.
How do I get Dispersing in a reading?
Build six lines from the bottom up with three coins or yarrow stalks; the pattern - - — - - - - — — is Dispersing. You can also cast a reading here — the lines are decided by code, the text is this page's.