Also known as Following, Following the Lead, Adapting.
The character 隨 means to follow or go along with. Hexagram 17 is about following well: adapting to the moment, choosing whom to follow, and earning a following yourself by first being willing to serve.
The figure
Lake over Thunder. Thunder, the strong and active force, sits below the lake, the gentle and joyful one. Strength places itself beneath what is pleasant, and so others follow it gladly. Thunder sunk into the marsh is also thunder at rest, like the season when it goes quiet in late autumn.
The judgment
It begins, opens, pays and holds. Nothing goes wrong.
This is the same four-word opening as hexagram 1, with one condition attached. Following goes well only when what you follow is right, and when you stay steady in it.
The image
Thunder gone down inside the marsh and quiet. When it gets dark, go in and rest.
Going along with the times includes going along with the day. When evening comes, stop and rest.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The standard is changing. Holding steady goes well. Go out the door and mix with people, and something gets done.
- Line 2. Hold on to the small boy and you lose the grown man. Attaching yourself to the easy or immature costs you the better connection.
- Line 3. Hold on to the grown man and you let the small boy go. Following the right lead gets you what you seek. Hold steady.
- Line 4. Following brings results, but holding on too tightly brings trouble. Go your way sincerely and it becomes clear. How could that be wrong?
- Line 5. Honest trust placed in what is worthy. It goes well.
- Line 6, at the top. Held fast, and bound even closer. The king takes them up the western mountain. A loyalty so deep it lasts past the work itself.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 17 says adapt. Follow a good lead, or the needs of the moment, rather than insisting on your own plan. Choose carefully whom you attach yourself to, and rest when the day is done.