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All personal information in this case study has been anonymized or omitted. This case study is provided for learning and reference only. It is not intended as medical, veterinary, legal, financial, investment, or other professional advice.
Time of divination: March 13, 2026, at 8:43 PM.
Stem and branch time: III G year, VIII D month, III L day (void: G and H), V L hour.
A female querent asked about reconciliation. The background was that she suspected her ex-boyfriend had a third party, although he did not admit it. At the moment of casting the hexagram, she was full of doubt about this matter. At the same time she asked whether the two of them could reconcile. She obtained Qian to Tong Ren.

Judgment: In this hexagram, the first line, the fourth line, the fifth line, which was the host line, and the top line were all active. Therefore, this was a hexagram with an unusually large number of active lines.
- Many active lines indicate upheaval in the matter: Because there were too many changes in the hexagram, the matter was judged to be highly turbulent. When many lines are active at once, it is often difficult to grasp a single clear main thread. This itself shows that the emotional entanglement was extremely complicated and full of twists and reversals. In “I Ching Divination: Complete and Restored” (Zengshan Buyi, 《增删卜易》), this falls under the discussion of “chaotic movement of the six lines.”Cases of this kind are precisely where many readers misjudge the hexagram if they focus only on one line or one seemingly favorable sign. For a fuller treatment of how to read these structures, including “chaotic movement of the six lines” and “solitary activity,” see my translation of Zengshan Buyi.
- In relationship divination, officials and ghosts represent the man, while wife and wealth represent a woman. This clearly showed that there was indeed another romantic opportunity, ambiguous involvement, or female entanglement around the man.
- Why the matter was so difficult to judge cleanly: On the one hand, the hexagram was full of movement, which already showed instability and repeated reversals. On the other hand, the querent was asking about reconciliation while at the same time carrying strong suspicion about another woman. This meant that the emotional question itself was not pure and simple. Instead, it had already become mixed together with distrust, concealment, and outside interference. Therefore, even if reconciliation were to occur, it would not easily be a clean or stable reconciliation.
- The transformed hexagram being Tong Ren, a returning soul hexagram, also suggested that the two might ultimately come back together. In relationship matters, a returning soul hexagram often points to something returning to its former place. However, in this case, because the hexagram also showed chaotic movement and hidden romantic entanglement, this return did not indicate a stable resolution. Instead, it showed only that reconciliation remained possible.
Conclusion: This hexagram showed that reconciliation was possible, but not in a clean or stable way. It would be unlikely to resolve the underlying emotional knot.
Afterward, she continued casting many more hexagrams about the matter.
Bonus Case from “I Ching Divination: Complete and Restored” (Zengshan Buyi, 《增删卜易》)
A related discussion appears in “I Ching Divination: Complete and Restored” (Zengshan Buyi, 《增删卜易》), where Old Man Yehe discusses the problem of chaotic movement and solitary stillness.
The hexagram obtained was “Wei Ji to Jian”. [132]

In ancient times, some would determine the time of fulfillment based on a solitary static line. For example, in this hexagram, the C Wood is the solitary static line. In this hexagram, Earth represents descendants. However, even so, I dared not make a definitive judgment.”
That is exactly why cases of this kind require more than mechanical line reading. Instead, they require careful attention to the significator, the host line, the chain of generation and overcoming, and the balance between movement and stillness. Readers who want to study this type of structure more systematically can find a fuller discussion in my translation of Zengshan Buyi.
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