I Ching / Hexagram 17

Hexagram 17: Sui, Following

Speaks of choosing well whom to follow and knowing how to draw followers: adapting to the moment without giving up the integrity of your choice.

Thunder rests at the bottom of the lake, like someone settling in as evening falls.

The situation

A moment comes to adapt to what the times call for. Someone or something sets the course and you decide to go along with it, or else you are the one who draws others in. Healthy following grows out of free agreement and out of knowing when it is time to rest and when it is time to act.

The advice

It serves you to follow only what truly deserves your loyalty and to stay upright in that choice. Avoid trailing after just anyone out of convenience or out of fear of being left alone.

The judgement

The Judgment of Sui brings together the four virtues that open the book: success from the root, success that reaches far, that furthers, and that calls for perseverance. It adds that, this way, there is no blame. The condition weighs as much as the promise: following is only clean when it rests on the firmness of what you choose. Whoever wants others to follow begins by adapting to what the hour demands, and whoever follows does so out of conviction, without coercion or cunning. Read today, the judgment speaks of leadership, teams, mentors, and fashions too. Joining something is easy when everything pushes in the same direction; the hard part is checking that the cause deserves your support and keeping your own judgment within the group. Success comes when the choice is free and holds up over time, and blame appears when you follow out of convenience, out of fear, or for gain.

Lake over Thunder: the two trigrams

Below is Thunder, the movement that awakens; above is Lake, serene joy. Impulse places itself underneath and contentment sits on top: whoever moves does so to please, and that wins them support. Tradition links Thunder to the eldest son and Lake to the youngest daughter, so the figure shows the elder yielding to the younger to win her trust. Strength that lowers itself attracts; strength that imposes itself drives people away. The image adds the rhythm of the day: thunder withdrawing into the depths of the lake is energy resting at nightfall. Following also means keeping time with the moment, acting when it is time to act and withdrawing to recover your strength when evening falls.

The six lines

  1. First line. The reference points that guided your path are shifting. Step out of your usual circle and deal with different people: that open contact bears good fruit.
  2. Second line. You cling to what is small and close at hand and lose sight of something more valuable. Choose carefully whom you follow, because every bond closes other doors.
  3. Third line. You let go of what is immature to join something more solid. You get what you are after, though you have to accept the loss and stand firmly by your decision.
  4. Fourth line. The way you follow attracts support, perhaps out of self-interest. Examine your motives and act openly: clarity of intention protects you.
  5. Fifth line. You place your trust in what is good and true, and you stay faithful to it. That sincere faithfulness brings good fortune.
  6. Sixth line. You become deeply bound to a person or a cause, beyond anything practical. That firm, almost sacred tie deserves to be honored.

The archetype: The Disciple

The Disciple finds someone or something that embodies what he does not yet know how to be, and decides to follow. His desire is to grow alongside a figure or a cause that gives him direction. His conflict lies in the choice itself: following means leaving doors behind, old loyalties, a familiar life, and sometimes his own voice. If he chooses well, following transforms him and one day turns him into someone others follow. His risk is twofold. He may give himself, out of a need to belong, to someone who does not deserve it, or he may follow out of calculation, waiting for a reward. Either way, he ends up a prisoner of his choice. The good disciple keeps his eyes open within his loyalty.

In literature

  • Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse, 1922). You see it in the moment when Siddhartha and his friend Govinda listen to Gotama the Buddha in the Jetavana grove. Govinda decides to follow him and joins his community; Siddhartha, who admires the master, takes his leave because he senses that wisdom has to be lived and resists being passed on in words. The novel sets two ways of following against each other: devotion to a master and faithfulness to one's own search.
  • The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1880). Alyosha, the youngest of the Karamazovs, enters the monastery as a novice to follow Elder Zosima, who tells him to go back into the world. When the elder dies, his body gives off a stench and Alyosha wavers, letting Rakitin take him to Grushenka's house. That night, listening to the reading of the wedding at Cana beside the coffin, he dreams of his teacher, goes out into the garden, kisses the earth, and chooses once more whom to follow.
  • The War of the End of the World (Mario Vargas Llosa, 1981). João Abade, a bloodthirsty bandit of the backlands, hears the Counselor preach and gives up crime to follow him to Canudos. There he is named Commander of the Street and organizes the defense of the holy city against the armies of the Republic. His devotion changes his life: he leaves his past behind, puts his violence at the service of a faith he never fully understands, and stays loyal to the Counselor until Canudos is destroyed.

In history

The Salt March (1930). Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram on March 12 with seventy-eight companions to walk some 390 kilometers to Dandi and gather salt from the sea, defying the British monopoly. Along the way, thousands of people joined without anyone forcing them to. The episode embodies free following: a simple, consistent gesture draws support, and the movement's strength comes from those who choose to walk with it.

For writers

A character decides to follow another: a teacher, a leader, a cause. Write the scene in which they choose whom to follow and what they leave behind in doing so.

Hexagram 17 works for a plot of commitment and testing. In the setup, the protagonist is adrift until a figure appears (a teacher, a leader, a movement) offering direction, and they decide to follow at a price: leaving a family, a job, a partner. The turning point comes when they discover that their guide has a crack, or that they themselves are following for less noble reasons than they believed; then they have to decide whether to keep going, walk away, or stay in a different way. The resolution works best when loyalty is transformed: the disciple remains bound to the cause with judgment of their own, or breaks away with dignity and begins to guide others. The mistake to avoid is the passive follower with no desire of their own: if the character only obeys, the story belongs to someone else.

Frequently asked questions

What does hexagram 17 of the I Ching mean?

Sui, Following, speaks of adapting to what the moment calls for and choosing well whom you follow. It points to a stage when it makes sense to join a person, a project, or a cause, or when you are the one drawing others in, as long as the commitment is freely given and the choice is upheld with integrity.

What does hexagram 17 mean in love?

In a love reading, it suggests a relationship in which one partner sets the pace and the other goes along. It works if that arrangement is voluntary and mutual, and it goes wrong when someone follows out of fear of being alone. It invites you to ask whether the two of you truly choose each other or stay together out of convenience.

Is hexagram 17 favorable?

Yes. The judgment promises success and no blame, on one condition: perseverance in what is right. It is favorable for joining initiatives, accepting someone's leadership, or rallying support. It loses its good omen when you follow anyone out of inertia or seek followers through deception or self-serving promises.

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Published on October 4, 2026 · updated on October 18, 2026.