Hexagram 17 · Following (隨 Suí)
Lake ☱ over Thunder ☳
Thunder sunk within the lake · joyful movement that is followed
Following is the hexagram of moving in step with the time, and of the subtle art of leadership that begins with knowing how to follow. Thunder, the arousing, has sunk down inside the Lake, the joyous; movement rests within gladness. The image is of someone others want to follow precisely because they themselves know how to yield to what is right. This is not blind obedience. It is the wisdom of adapting to the moment without losing your principles.
Lake sits above, open and joyous; Thunder sits below, the impulse to move. The commentary makes a deceptively profound point: to be a leader worth following, you must first learn how to follow. True following is given freely, never commanded, and you earn it by your own willingness to adapt and to put yourself in step with what the situation genuinely needs. The Image even counsels rest and renewal when the day's work is done, moving with the natural turn of things rather than against it.
What this hexagram counsels in a reading
When Sui answers your question, this is a time of adapting and aligning rather than imposing. The counsel is to follow what is genuinely sound, to earn others' trust by your own readiness to yield where yielding is wise, and to meet the moment on its terms. The hexagram is not telling you to be a pushover; it is telling you that flexibility and good timing are your strength right now. Adapt to the current, and people will follow you through it.
In love and relationships
For relationships, Following favours flexibility, give-and-take, and the willingness to move with a partner rather than always insisting on your own course. It is a harmonious sign that rewards mutual adaptation. The counsel is to follow what is good in the relationship and to let yourself be led at times, trusting that this kind of generous flexibility builds the very trust that makes a bond strong. Rigidity is what this hexagram warns against.
In work and money
In work, Sui favours adapting to changing conditions, aligning with sound leadership, and earning influence by your willingness to move with the times. Read the moment and follow what is genuinely right rather than clinging to a fixed plan. With money, it counsels flexibility and good timing, following the favourable current rather than fighting it, while keeping your principles intact.
Moving lines and the changing hexagram
The moving lines of Following describe the choices involved in following well, from a change in allegiance that proves sound, to the danger of clinging to the small and losing the great, to sincerity that holds firm at the centre. A changing line here usually comments on what or whom you are following, and whether it is worthy. Read it as guidance on your alliances and your adaptability. The hexagram it becomes shows where following the current leads next.
Its Tarot kin
On the deck side of this site, Following rhymes with Wheel of Fortune. Both turn on moving in time with change, going with the turn rather than against it. The Wheel asks you to flow with the cycle as it rises and falls; Sui is that same supple alignment, the wisdom of following the moment to where it wants to go.
Cast the coins and you might draw this one — try the I Ching tool, or see all sixty-four on the full hexagram grid. For reflection and insight, not fortune-telling — see our disclaimer.