The Family
家人Jia Ren
No. 37 · Wind over Fire
Jia Ren (The Family)
A home has to work like a home: everyone holds their own place, words have substance and actions stay consistent, and then a family or a team stands steady.
Cast your own hexagramJia Ren (The Family) says to look after your closest relationships and your own role first. Speak with substance and act consistently, and outside matters tend to fall into line.
Favorable
- Make the division of tasks clear
- Do what you say
- Look after your own people first
- Agree on a few shared rules
Avoid
- Letting things run with no rules
- Controlling people too tightly
- Promising and not following through
- Taking family fights public
Work and money
- Job search
- Look for places with clear structure that value the team, or take good care of your piece of your current job. Jia Ren (The Family) is about each person holding their place: in interviews, concrete things you owned and people you led say more than slogans.
- Business
- Family businesses and ventures with people you know well suit Jia Ren (The Family). Set internal rules first; expansion can wait. Make the books, the roles and who has the final say clear. The fourth line's wealthy household is built from the inside.
- Money
- Plan money as a household: track spending, save and keep a shared budget. Steady accumulation is more favorable than taking risks.
Love and people
- Single
- Introductions through family or old friends work well here, since you know more about the person's background. If you want someone to build a life with, talk early about daily habits and what home means to each of you.
- In a relationship
- With Jia Ren (The Family), practical talks tend to go well: moving in, marriage, who does what. The third line weighs strict against lax. No rules at all gets messy, too many is exhausting, so agree on a few big principles for chores and money.
- Getting back together
- There is a chance, especially if the bond ran deep and your families know each other. The Image asks for constant conduct: keep doing the things you said you'd change. That tends to bring someone back more than one long apology.
- People and partnerships
- Under Jia Ren (The Family), a partnership works like a household, so make clear who handles what. In the fifth line the king comes to his family: when the leader genuinely looks after everyone and people care for each other, the team is easier to lead.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Study at home or in a fixed spot on a regular schedule, set like house rules. The first line guards the family from the start: block distractions and put the phone away at the outset instead of patching things halfway through.
- Moving and travel
- Moves and family trips tend to go smoothly under Jia Ren (The Family), and it is a good time to find a place to settle. Split the tasks before you leave, who books the rooms and who holds the money, and there is less arguing on the road.
- Body and mind
- The mood at home directly sways yours. Line up your routine a little more with the people you live with: eat together, sleep earlier. If something is bothering you, talk it out; keeping it bottled up drains you most.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Leaning favorable, and news tends to come through family or friends. The condition is settling things on your own side first. Wind rises out of fire, inside to outside; if the inside isn't ready, it drags.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- Disputes within a family or between people who know each other are best handled behind closed doors, not in court. Sort out each side's role and responsibility first, and ask someone both sides trust to mediate.
- Lost things and people
- Probably still at home. Xun (Wind) is wood and cord, Li (Fire) is bright places: check wooden cabinets, breezy spots by a window, tangles of cables and cords, near the stove or under a lamp. Xun also points southeast.
Making a decision
Matters inside your family or team can move forward. Get the people around you on board before acting; don't make the call alone.
If you are…
Both of you are tired, and small things turn into fights. Jia Ren (The Family) gives everyone a place: decide who takes night feeds and who handles groceries and relatives, instead of arguing every night over who gets up. Then stick to it; that is what steadies the home.
The center of Jia Ren (The Family) is the home, and the second line presides over the family table. Pick one or two fixed nights a week to be home on time for dinner, and keep to them. That reassures the people at home more than an occasional big meal out.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
利女貞。
It pays for the woman to be steadfast.
Wind over Fire: Xun (Wind) above, Li (Fire) below. When a fire burns, wind rises from it. Wind comes out of the fire, from the inside outward, the way a family's character spreads out from its home. That is Jia Ren (The Family).
Nine at the beginning
閑有家，悔亡。
Setting up guards within the family from the start. Regret disappears.
A new shared home, a new marriage or a new team is just beginning. Spell out the rules on chores, money and schedules now. Agreeing at the start saves a lot of arguments later.
Small Image: 閑有家，志未變也。
Six in the second place
无攸遂，在中饋，貞吉。
Not pursuing achievements on one's own; presiding over the meals at the center of the home. Steadfastness brings good fortune.
This is a time to take care of the part you are responsible for, like the family's daily needs or keeping the logistics solid. There is no need to rush forward and make the big calls.
Small Image: 六二之吉，順以巽也。
Nine in the third place
家人嗃嗃，悔厲吉；婦子嘻嘻，終吝。
When the household is scolded sternly, there is regret and danger, yet good fortune. When the women and children giggle and run loose, in the end there is humiliation.
Being too strict tends to cause friction, and family or staff may be unhappy, but it beats letting everything slide. With no boundaries at all, harder problems pile up over time.
Small Image: 家人嗃嗃，未失也；婦子嘻嘻，失家節也。
Six in the fourth place
富家，大吉。
Making the household wealthy. Great good fortune.
A strong time to manage the household finances or build income for your family or team. Careful budgeting, step by step, tends to make the reserves grow.
Small Image: 富家大吉，順在位也。
Nine in the fifth place
王假有家，勿恤。吉。
The king comes to his family, moving them with sincerity. No need to worry. Good fortune.
When whoever runs the house treats everyone with real care, and people look out for each other, family matters get easier to talk through. If there is a grudge, be the one who offers goodwill first.
Small Image: 王假有家，交相愛也。
Nine at the top
有孚威如，終吉。
With sincerity and dignity, good fortune in the end.
Your words carry weight at home or on a team when you do things first and keep your word. Be strict with yourself, and others are more willing to follow.
Small Image: 威如之吉，反身之謂也。
家人，女正位乎內，男正位乎外，男女正，天地之大義也。家人有嚴君焉，父母之謂也。父父，子子，兄兄，弟弟，夫夫，婦婦，而家道正；正家而天下定矣。
Jia Ren (The Family): the woman holds her proper place within, the man holds his proper place without. When man and woman are both correct, that is the great principle of heaven and earth. The family has strict heads; this means the father and mother. When the father is a father and the son a son, the elder brother an elder brother and the younger brother a younger brother, the husband a husband and the wife a wife, the way of the family is correct. Set the family right, and all under heaven is settled.
The Image風自火出，家人；君子以言有物，而行有恆。
Wind comes forth from fire: this is Jia Ren (The Family). The noble person, seeing this, gives words real substance and keeps conduct constant.
The Sequence: why it comes here傷於外者，必反其家，故受之以家人。
Before this comes Ming Yi (Darkening of the Light). Whoever is hurt out in the world will return home, so Ming Yi is followed by Jia Ren (The Family).
Miscellaneous Notes睽外也，家人內也。
Kui (Opposition) faces outward; Jia Ren (The Family) faces inward. Jia Ren is a household drawing close together, while Kui is people drifting apart and turning away from each other. The two hexagrams are each other turned upside down.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Jia Ren mean for love?
Introductions through family or old friends work well here, since you know more about the person's background. If you want someone to build a life with, talk early about daily habits and what home means to each of you. With Jia Ren (The Family), practical talks tend to go well: moving in, marriage, who does what. The third line weighs strict against lax. No rules at all gets messy, too many is exhausting, so agree on a few big principles for chores and money.
What does Jia Ren mean for work?
Look for places with clear structure that value the team, or take good care of your piece of your current job. Jia Ren (The Family) is about each person holding their place: in interviews, concrete things you owned and people you led say more than slogans. A good time to sort out the team from the inside: roles, processes and ground rules made clear. Rather than expanding outward, build trust and rhythm among your own people first.
With Jia Ren, will what I am waiting for come?
Leaning favorable, and news tends to come through family or friends. The condition is settling things on your own side first. Wind rises out of fire, inside to outside; if the inside isn't ready, it drags.
With Jia Ren, will I find what I lost?
Probably still at home. Xun (Wind) is wood and cord, Li (Fire) is bright places: check wooden cabinets, breezy spots by a window, tangles of cables and cords, near the stove or under a lamp. Xun also points southeast.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.