Hexagram 61
Earned Trust
zhōngfú
Reading it as a decision
Wind moves across an open lake here — nothing forces the water, yet it answers the lightest touch. The classical judgment says even the least aware creatures meet good fortune under this pattern, favorable enough to risk crossing a great river. At its core, this hexagram is about sincerity that reaches further than argument or authority can — the kind of credibility that shows up in decisions built on persuading a skeptical partner, holding to a hard commitment, or repairing trust that's been strained.
The signal here is that sincerity has to be demonstrated, not just held as an intention. Staying in the position of good intentions without acting on them tends to be the less favorable path — the classical line texts lean cautionary specifically where trust is claimed but not yet put to work.
The classical text
Judgment (卦辭)
中孚，豚魚吉，利涉大川，利貞。
Sincerity so deep it reaches even pigs and fish: good fortune, favorable to cross the great river.
The six lines (爻辭)
初九：虞吉，有他不燕。
Being fully prepared brings good fortune; drawn toward something else, there is no peace.
九二：鳴鶴在陰，其子和之，我有好爵，吾與爾靡之。
A crane calls in the shade and its young answer back; I have good wine, let us share it.
六三：得敵，或鼓或罷，或泣或歌。
Facing a rival, one moment beating the drum, the next stopping, weeping, then singing.
六四：月几望，馬匹亡，無咎。
The moon nearly full, a paired horse goes missing — no blame.
九五：有孚攣如，無咎。
Sincerity that binds people together tightly — no blame.
上九：翰音登于天，貞凶。
A rooster's crow rises toward heaven, sound without substance — persisting brings misfortune.
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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