泽雷随
Hexagram 17 describes a situation where success comes through adaptability rather than assertion. The counsel here is to follow what is natural, align with the current moment, and resist the urge to impose your own agenda on circumstances that are already moving in a productive direction.
随：元亨利贞，无咎。
随时而动、择善而从：大亨通，利于守正，可保无咎。
Interpretive translationFollowing has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame.
彖曰：随，刚来而下柔，动而说，随。大亨，贞，无咎，而天下随时。随之时义大矣哉！
象曰：泽中有雷，随；君子以向晦入宴息。
雷入泽中，动极而静；君子效法它，到了夜晚便入内休息，顺时而作止。
官有渝，贞吉。出门交有功。
象曰：官有渝，从正吉也。出门交有功，不失也。
When what is held changes, perseverance brings good fortune. To go out of the gate and associate brings achievement.
系小子，失丈夫。
象曰：系小子，弗兼与也。
If one clings to the little boy, one loses the strong man.
系丈夫，失小子。随有求得，利居贞。
象曰：系丈夫，志舍下也。
If one clings to the strong man, one loses the little boy. Through following one finds what one seeks; it furthers to remain persevering.
随有获，贞凶。有孚在道，以明，何咎。
象曰：随有获，其义凶也。有孚在道，明功也。
Following creates success, but perseverance brings misfortune. To be sincere on one's path and make it clear — how could there be blame?
孚于嘉，吉。
象曰：孚于嘉吉，位正中也。
Sincerity in the good. Good fortune.
拘系之，乃从维之。王用亨于西山。
象曰：拘系之，上穷也。
He meets with firm allegiance and is still further bound. The king introduces him to the Western Mountain.
Structure
Sui is formed by Lake (Dui ☱) above Thunder (Zhen ☳). Thunder stirs below while the lake rests above — movement arising from within, received openly at the surface. The lower trigram Zhen represents initiative and arousal; the upper Dui represents joy and openness. Together they suggest that genuine following is not submission but a joyful, conscious alignment with what is already unfolding.
Core meaning
The central teaching of Sui is that there are moments when the wisest course is not to lead but to follow — to read the situation accurately and move with it rather than against it. This is not weakness. It requires clear perception, genuine flexibility, and the willingness to set aside personal preference in favor of what the moment actually calls for.
Following in the Sui sense means following what is right, not following blindly. The hexagram carries an implicit standard: you follow the good, the natural, the appropriate. When a leader follows the needs of the people, when a student follows the guidance of a teacher, when a practitioner follows the rhythm of the season — this is Sui at its best.
In Liuyao readings, Sui often appears when the querent is being asked to release control and trust a process that is already working. It can also signal that someone in the situation is being overly compliant in a way that is not serving them — following out of fear rather than wisdom. The distinction matters enormously for interpretation.
The hexagram also speaks to timing. Thunder moves quickly; the lake receives immediately. There is no lag between stimulus and response. Sui asks whether you are truly present to what is happening, or whether you are responding to a situation that has already changed.
In divination
When Sui appears in a reading, examine what is being followed and whether that following is conscious. A reading about relationships may suggest that one party needs to be more responsive to the other's actual needs rather than projecting what they think those needs are. A career reading may suggest that the querent should align with the direction their organization or field is already moving rather than pushing against it.
Sui is generally favorable for questions about cooperation, timing, and adaptation. It is less favorable when the question requires independent initiative or when the querent needs to establish clear boundaries.
Move from research into a real reading
If this page helped you frame the question, the next step is to run a reading with that same clarity.