54 · 雷泽归妹

归妹卦原文

归妹。征凶，无攸利。

象曰：泽上有雷，归妹。君子以永终知敝。

白话文解释

归妹卦：筮遇此爻，出征凶险。无所利。

《象辞》说：归妹之卦，下卦为兑，兑为泽；上卦为震，震为雷。可见泽上雷鸣，雷鸣水动，用以喻男女心动相爱而成眷属。这是归妹卦的卦象。君子观此卦象，从而在长期的婚姻生活中，体察到婚姻的成功与失败。

《断易天机》解

归妹卦震上兑下，为兑宫归魂卦。占得此卦，天地不交，闭塞不通，有殃有咎，无始无终，所作不顺，百事不利。

北宋易学家邵雍解

违反常理，其道将穷；明察事理，止绝妄念。

得此卦者，困难之时，做事有违常理，灾祸不断。宜明察事理，修身养性，断绝妄念。

台湾国学大儒傅佩荣解

时运：进不以道，难以持久。

财运：货价尚可，结局未必。

家宅：已婚不宜居母家；勿眈情欲。

身体：大限将至。

传统解卦

这个卦是异卦（下兑上震）相叠。震为动、为长男；兑为悦、为少女。以少女从长男，产生爱慕之情，有婚姻之动，有嫁女之象，故称归妹。

大象：震长男在上，兑少女在下，女必归从，归即是出嫁，但少女配长男，非正常组合。

运势：处事有违常理正道，先得其益，但随后祸事百端。

事业：正在进入新的阶段，很快将会出现另一番景象。这时首先必须具备远大眼光，识破利弊和吉凶，有备始能无患。其次是坚守纯正的品德和正确的原则。

经商：开拓新的市场即将成功，在未来的商业活动中必须注意经营的方向和种类，加强与他人合作。

求名：务必以坚定的决心，努力提高自己，为成名立业奠定基础，最可怕是儿女情长影响了自己的前途和事业。

婚恋：顺其自然，不可违背原则，尤其不可强求，宁可晚婚也要选择理想的对象。夫妻经过生活考验，可和谐到老。

决策：对于人生必须坚持公正纯洁的品德，正确对待婚姻和家庭，以幸福美满的家庭为基础，开拓和发展自己的事业。

第五十四卦的哲学含义

归妹卦卦辞，雷泽归妹卦的象征意义

归妹卦，这个卦是异卦相叠。上卦为震，下卦为兑。震为动，为长男；兑为悦，为少女。以少女从长男，产生爱慕之情，有婚姻之动，有嫁女之象，故称归归妹卦位于渐卦之后，《序卦》这样解释道：“进必有所归，故受之以妹。”渐卦是讲进展的，进展到一定时候，就要有个归宿，其含义就可以推广到嫁出女子。《杂卦》中说道：“归妹，女之终也。”就强调了这层意思。古人以女子出嫁为有所归，有如回到家一般。

《象》中这样解释本卦：泽上有雷，归妹，君子以永终知敝。这里指出：归妹卦的卦象是兑（泽）下震（雷）上，兑又代表少女，震又代表长男，为嫁出少女之象；君子应当永远使夫妇和谐，白头偕老，防止夫妇关系被破坏。

归妹卦象征婚嫁，启示的是立家兴业的道理，属于下下卦。《象》中这样来断此卦：求鱼须当向水中，树上求之不顺情，受尽爬揭难随意，劳而无功运平平。

54　高岛易断-雷泽归妹(䷵)

卦体《震》上《兑》下，《震》长男，《兑》少女。凡《彖》之取象男女者，如《咸》之少男少女，如《渐》之长女少男，皆言夫妇，而独于《震》男《兑》女，取象兄妹。按女子先生为姊，后生为妹，诸侯一娶九女，姊嫁则妹媵。孔颖达曰：“少女谓之妹，从姊而行，谓之归。”此卦之所以曰《归妹》也。

归妹：征凶，无攸利。

《归妹》少长非偶，夫妇之不正也。女子以夫为家，在男曰娶，在女曰归，故《渐》曰“女归吉”，《咸》曰“娶女吉”。“征”者，往也，是私奔也，故凶，所谓锁隙相窥，逾墙相从，父母国人皆贱之。女德若此，夫何利焉！故曰“无攸利”，是痛戒而深恶之也。

《彖传》曰：归妹，天地之大义也。天地不交，而万物不兴。归妹，人之终始也。说以动，所归妹也。征凶，位不当也。无攸利，柔乘刚也。

三阳三阴之卦，皆自《乾》《坤》来，变《乾》上画为偶，而成《兑》，变《坤》下画为奇，而成《震》；《兑》女《震》男，卦名《归妹》，《震》《兑》之父母，则为《乾》《坤》，《乾》《坤》即天地也。天地相交而万物蕃兴，男女相交而生育繁昌，是“天地之大义”，即人伦之终始也。《兑》，悦也，《震》，动也，“悦以动”，是以情悦相从也，以此《归妹》，失其正也。“征凶”者，《震》为征，因悦而求进，是献媚工谗，意欲以媵而夺嫡也，故《传》斥之曰“位不当也”。“无攸利”者，以柔悦之性，乘刚动之势，一经得宠，便欲挟制《乾》阳，女权如此，不特不利于一身，必将不利于家国矣。《传》特明揭其不正之由，曰此所归之妹，乃“悦以动”者也。

以此卦拟人事，《归妹》者，女有家，男有室，人事之终始也。天地之道，以阴阳相交，而化生万物，夫妇亦一阴阳也，但女子之嫁也，以礼而聘，以时而归，如《渐》之止而动，故“女归吉”，反之，女悦男动，是私相从也。不待父母之命，媒妁之言，以悦而动，岂得谓《归妹》之正乎？其位以阳居阴，为不当也，故“凶”；且一阴据二阳之上，是“柔乘刚”也，故“无攸利”。《传》之一一垂诫，盖深警色升爱选，艳妻煽乱。妇德一乖，而家道因之而亏，此即人事之变也。牝鸡司晨，其祸盖有不可胜言者矣！

以此卦拟国家，妇之从夫，犹臣之从君，夫妇君臣，本人伦之大节，亦即“天地之大义”也。臣之容悦得位者，巧言令色，一以谄媚为工，极其奸谋所出，必将结援宫帏，联合阉寺，以作声势：且于佞媚之中，寓以箝制之用，一旦威权在握，几将藐视王灵，不复愿天位之有在，卒之凶祸来临，势败身亡。此女子小人，自古难养，圣人所以痛切而垂警也。《归妹》《彖》辞，首揭“征凶，无攸利”五字，即此旨焉。《传》复进之曰，“悦以动，所归妹也”，盖谓《归妹》者人伦之常，“悦以动”，为《归妹》之变，其所以“征凶”而“无攸利”者，皆自“悦以动”阶之厉也。天下之事悦而动，未有能正者，女子与小人，其凶一也，有国家者，最宜凛凛焉。”

通观此卦，《归妹》，少女也，少女无知，故称妹；情欲相感，见可悦而昏，动不以礼，是为《归妹》。姊未嫁而妹先归，紊其序也；躬居媵而思夺嫡，越其分也。妇德若此，凶莫大焉，夫何利乎？六爻柔上刚下，内外倒置：二四以阳居阴，男以不正而从女；三五以阴居阳，女以不正而从夫；上卦六五乘九四，下卦六三乘九二，夫屈于妇，妇制其夫；阴反居上，阳降居初，皆失其渐。故《渐》六爻多吉，至上愈吉，《归妹》初爻独吉，至上则“无攸利”矣。是以君子贵《艮》渐而戒轻悦也。

《大象》曰：泽上有雷，归妹，君子以永终知敝。

此卦反《渐》，上卦为雷，下卦为泽，雷动则泽水为之摇漾。以阴感阳，犹女子之挑而可动也，失身败德，不谨其始，安能保其“永终”乎？君子见此象，知悦牵于私，动失其正，始既不善，敝即在后。欲防之于未然，故宜“永终”以“知敝”，斯不以妾为妻，不以贱妨贵。嫡庶正而名分严，足以维大义之不敝也。

【占】　问时运：一时发动，恐难持久。

○　问营商：货价升动，卖客喜悦，但恐不能图终。

○　问功名：进不以道，防有后悔。

○　问战征：地雷陡发，足以制胜，恐一胜以后，兵力疲敝，无以保终。

○　问婚姻：徒恋一时情欲之私者，难期百年偕老也。

○　问家宅：地磐有动，已嫁之妇，不宜同居母家。

○　问疾病：“永终”二字，独于占病不利，显见命限已终。

○　问讼事：可以终结。

○　问六甲：生女。

Judgment

Legge: Propriety indicates that action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The Marrying Maiden. Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.

Blofeld: The Marriageable Maiden. Advance brings misfortune. No goal (or destination) is now favorable.

Liu: The Marrying Girl. Undertaking leads to misfortune. Nothing benefits.

Ritsema/Karcher: Converting Maidenhood, chastising: pitfall. Without direction: Harvesting. [Without direction: Harvesting: ... In order to take advantage of the situation, do not impose a direction on events.] [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy: Returning maiden: To be upright is inauspicious; there is no place beneficial.

Cleary (1): Making a young girl marry: To go on will lead to misfortune; no profit is gained.

Cleary (2): Marrying a young girl. To go on an expedition leads to misfortune, with nothing gained.

Wu: Marrying a Maiden indicates that it will be foreboding to make moves. There is nothing to be gained.

The Image

Legge: The waters of a Marsh with Thunder over it form the hexagram of Propriety. The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder over the lake: the image of The Marrying Maiden. Thus the superior man understands the transitory in the light of the eternity of the end.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over a pool. The Superior Man knows that, to achieve an enduring end, he must be aware of his mistakes at the beginning.

Liu: Thunder over the lake symbolizes the Marrying Girl. The superior man knows the cause of error, and persists in his virtue to the end.

Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing thunder. Converting Maidenhood. A chun tzu uses perpetually completing to know the cracked.

Cleary (1): There is thunder above a lake, making a young girl marry. Thus superior people persist to the end and know what is wrong.

Cleary (2): Thunder over a lake – Marrying a young girl. Developed people consider lasting results and know what is wrong. [The way developed people handle things is that before they take the time to ask how to start something, they first consider lasting results. If they think of lasting results, they know what is wrong with acting prematurely, like marrying an immature girl. If you understand the meaning of this, you can apply it to government and to contemplating mind as well.]

Wu: There is thunder above the marsh; this is Marrying a Maiden. Thus, the jun zi in the pursuit of lasting excellence realizes the flaws and corrects them.

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: In the marriage of a young bride the proper relationship between heaven and earth is seen. Nothing could grow or flourish if heaven and earth did not unite. The marriage of a young bride is therefore both the commencement and goal of humanity. But here the desire of pleasure employs movement to attain union. This action will be evil because the lines are in inappropriate places, and the magnetic three and five are mounted on dynamic lines.

Legge: The Chinese phrase for this hexagram might be equivalent to the English "giving in marriage,” but there are some special meanings in this case which must be understood. The Judgment gives a bad auspice because the trigram of the Youngest Daughter is beneath the trigram of the Eldest Son. Since the action of the hexagram begins with the lowest trigram, we have two violations of propriety. First, the marriage is initiated by the woman and her friends. She goes unilaterally to her future home instead of the

bridegroom coming to fetch her. Second, the parties are unequally matched -- there is too

great a disparity in their ages. In addition, all the lines in the hexagram except the top and the bottom are in places inappropriate for them. Some commentators insist that the symbol of the contracting of a marriage in this hexagram sets forth some principles which should obtain in the relation between a ruler and his ministers. The growth of things in nature from the interaction of heaven and earth is analogous to the increase of mankind through the interaction between male and female in marriage. The K'ang-hsi editors reconcile this good auspice with the unfavorable

Judgment by saying: "The interaction of the yin and yang cannot be dispensed with, but we ought to be careful about it in the beginning in order to prevent mischief in the end.” The error here is that the desire for the marriage originated with the lady, and that she is heedless of the disparity in their ages.

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: Propriety means that unilateral action is inappropriate. The Superior Man understands that the Work is guided from within, and that choices which ignore this truth can only retard its progress. (Present actions originate future consequences: pay heed to your choices.)

The traditional name for this hexagram is The Marrying Maiden -- a title which does not convey to modern western readers the subtlety of its symbolism. Blofeld says: "This hexagram is, on the whole, a most unfortunate omen ... We must not suppose that it deals only with marriage. What is said about the maiden symbolizes in some way or other what we may expect for ourselves within the context of our enquiry." The figure is certainly difficult, but "unfortunate" only if its import is resisted or denied: any portrayal of our situation which eliminates illusion (however painful the realization), must be regarded as a positive lesson. Although the Confucian commentary describes this hexagram in terms of selfseeking aspiration, the wretched protagonist of the figure is not invariably culpable, and neither Judgment nor Image imply this. In addition to being at the very bottom of the social pecking order, the maiden is portrayed as half-blind, crippled and a "slave." Although condemned by the commentators for importuning a marriage that would raise her status, a close reading of the lines reveals that only the sixth place suggests possible

impropriety -- the others all contain advice about how one of extremely low status should cope with restricted circumstances. The hexagram therefore can deal with either of two possible conditions: those involving Propriety and those involving Making-do as an adaptation to adversity. In the first instance, it is useful to compare the symbolism here with that of the preceding hexagram of Gradual Progress. There we see the organic progression of the Work allegorized as the proper marriage of a young woman. In this case, Gradual Progress has been turned upside down and the symbolism reversed: this young woman improperly pursues a marriage on her own initiative. Psychologically interpreted, it can be regarded as an image of the ego pushing its own agenda or desire for union.

The ego may move in directions and toward actions that are at variance with the intentions and standards of the Self ... The mature adult needs to recognize eventually his or her relative limitedness vis-à-vis the "Self- field" and the cosmic organism of which s/he is but a cell. We are subject to the ordering and growth intents of the entelechy of the whole.

E. C. Whitmont -- The Alchemy of Healing To recognize our `relative limitedness “vis-à-vis the Self-field” is to renounce our claim to unilateral action. Though the ego ardently desires a marriage with the Self, only the Self can initiate such a union. Chou Tun I, an early Neo-Confucian, makes an observation which illuminates Legge's Image: "The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning. The most important things in the world are tendencies. Tendencies may be strong or weak. If a tendency is extremely strong, it cannot be controlled. But it is possible to control it quickly if one realizes that it is strong. To control it requires effort. If one does not realize early enough, it will not be easy to apply effort.” To receive this hexagram without changing lines can be an admonition to examine your motives and actions in the matter at hand. Where are you out of line? If no obvious impropriety is involved, it could also portray an essentially impotent predicament. At such times Ritsema/Karcher's synopsis bears repetition: "This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it.”

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

Compare Propriety with hexagram number fifty-three, Gradual Progress, then compare them both with hexagram number thirty-one, Initiative. What are the similarities in their ideas? Now look at hexagrams number eleven, seventeen and twentytwo and observe the over-all philosophy which begins to emerge.