Hexagram 13
Common Cause
tóngrén
Reading it as a decision
Both trigrams here move upward — fire rises, and so does heaven's energy above it — which is the classical image for people drawn together by shared direction rather than proximity. The judgment specifies fellowship 'in the open country': not a closed circle, but an alliance open to anyone aligned with the purpose. It's read as strong enough to cross real obstacles together, provided the common ground is genuine rather than convenient, and provided everyone involved is actually pulling the same way.
The decision-facing signal is more cautionary than the surface reading suggests — the classical line texts here lean toward warning rather than reassurance, which points toward this being a position better exited than defended. An alliance can look solid and still not be the arrangement worth staying loyal to; if the fit has to be forced or explained away, that's information worth taking seriously.
The classical text
Judgment (卦辭)
同人，同人于野，亨，利涉大川，利君子貞。
Common Cause: gathering with others out in the open wilds; success, favorable to cross the great river.
The six lines (爻辭)
初九：同人于門，無咎。
Gathering with others at the gate; no blame.
六二：同人于宗，吝。
Gathering with others only within one's own clan; regret.
九三：伏戎于莽，升其高陵，三歲不興。
Hiding armed troops in the thicket, climbing the high ridge to watch; for three years nothing stirs.
九四：乘其墉，弗克攻，吉。
Mounting the city wall but unable to press the attack; good fortune.
九五：同人，先號啕而后笑，大師克相遇。
Fellowship — first wailing and weeping, then laughter, as great armies finally meet and join.
上九：同人于郊，無悔。
Gathering with others out on the far outskirts; no regret.
This is a general reference, not a live reading — it doesn't know your situation. iYarrow casts a fresh hexagram for the actual question you're weighing.
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