䷵ Gui Mei
🌀
Dui-Lake
Zhen-Thunder

Gui Mei I Ching Gua Meaning

歸妹 Gui Mei ䷵ hexagram meanings:

Marrying Maiden, The Marrying Maiden , The Marriageable Maiden, Marrying a maiden to her husband’s house

Consulting the Yarrow Stalk Oracle, try Free Online I Ching Reading

The fifty-fourth gua, Gui Mei, is the inverse of Jian and is associated with the ninth month of the lunar year (October in the solar calendar). Gui originally translated to marrying a maiden to her spouse’s home. This definition later expanded to incorporate the theme of return to the character. Mei translates to a younger sister or a young maiden. The two characters combined form the fifty-fourth gua which translates to Marrying Maiden, or a marriageable maiden. Despite its seemingly positive connotations, this gua often indicates misfortune. This is due to the history of concubines in ancient China. Thus, a state of being secondary, or without power is present communicated through this gua.

The ideograph representing Gui Mei consists of two characters. The first character, gui, contains two parts. The upper right portion resembles two pennants and a tassel attached to a pole. This represents the marriage procession. At the bottom part of this character’s ideograph is the word for “stop.” In the upper right, an image of a hand and arm above a broom. This ideograph represented the traditional gender roles of the time, a marrying maiden would take charge of the household in a marriage. The second character, Mei, also contains two parts. The first part is on the left, depicting a maiden. The right side of this ideograph produces the sound for mei.

Gui Mei is Thunder above Lake or an eldest son above a youngest daughter. This suggests the image of a young maiden visiting the home of her groom to become his wife. There is the connotation of return present in Gui Mei. It is the inverse of Jian and is therefore a movement in the opposite direction. Instead of proceeding forward, the maiden retreats to the home. Although marriage generally has positive connotations, this gua indicates misfortune. At the time the I Ching was written, an outdated marriage practice was still in place that King Wen believed was not beneficial to the household, nor the kingdom. Thus, it became an indication of misfortune.

This gua refers to an ancient Chinese marriage system that originated in the twenty-seventh century BCE that allowed men to marry multiple women. This was still practiced in King Wen’s time in the Zhou dynasty. Oftentimes, the elder sister in a family would marry a man and then appoint her younger sister as the second wife. Sometimes multiple sisters were brought into a marriage. Gui Mei refers to this younger wife. The youngest wife has no power in the household, all of that power belongs to the first wife. The youngest wife was required to be submissive to the first wife. She was the concubine in the relationship. The power struggle in these marriages led to unhappy relationships, which Gui Mei uses to point out misfortune.

䷵ Gui Mei hexagram

Gui Mei ䷵ Gui Mei hexagram Illustration

䷵ Gui Mei hexagram meaning

For the girl betrothed,
There is always danger
In going out and about.
If the ruffians find her,
Her future may be spoiled.

Bottom Line

Gui Mei Bottom Line Illustration

Bottom Line meaning


The bride walks down the aisle,
Aided by her younger sister.
Her foot is lame, but she can still walk,
And it is good luck to go out.

Line Two

Gui Mei Line Two Illustration

Line Two meaning


The recluse squints at the future
As he delivers his predictions.

Line Three

Gui Mei Line Three Illustration

Line Three meaning


Three sisters will end up married,
All to the same wealthy man.
But they will go in order:
Eldest, middle, then youngest.

Line Four

Gui Mei Line Four Illustration

Line Four meaning


A girl waits in solitude,
Putting off marriage,
Taking a gamble
On the best opportunity.

Line Five

Gui Mei Line Five Illustration

Line Five meaning


Di Yi gives his daughter in marriage.
The splendor of her costume
Outshines her mother’s dress,
The younger daughter given
To the same man as her sister.
This wedding will be a great success
If it takes place at the full moon.

Top Line

Gui Mei Top Line Illustration

Top Line meaning


The woman wasn’t bent
Under the load of her empty basket,
The man could not take meat
From a goat that did not bleed.
These are signs of ill fortune.

Comments: I Ching Illustrated Book of Changes

B i Ʉ

5

+

4

Refresh
Daily horoscope

GotoHoroscope's mobile App for your Zodiac sign. Available on Google Play
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Aries

horoscope

Taurus

horoscope

Gemini

horoscope

Cancer

horoscope

Leo

horoscope

Virgo

horoscope

Libra

horoscope

Scorpio

horoscope

Sagittarius

horoscope

Capricorn

horoscope

Aquarius

horoscope

Pisces

horoscope

Copyright © 2024 GotoHoroscope, all rights reserved. Developed by GotoHoroscope.com. Contact Us or check Site Map.