Influence (Hexagram 31)

What this is

The lake atop the mountain, the young woman above the young man drawing him up: mutual attraction, the influence that woos. Xian is Influence, sometimes Wooing or Courtship, the figure of the magnetism between the sexes and, more widely, of all genuine, gentle attraction. It opens the second half of the sequence as Heaven and Earth opened the first. Hexagram 31, 咸 (Xián): the upper trigram Dui (Lake, ☱) over the lower trigram Gen (Mountain, ☶); its six lines, read from the bottom upward, give the figure ䷞.

What it governs

It governs attraction, courtship, and the influence that moves the heart. In the Oracle it presides over the day for connection and gentle persuasion, for opening yourself to others and letting sincere feeling, not pressure, draw them near.

Its properties

Its image is the lake nestled on the mountain, the moisture the height receives, the receptive above and the still strength below in willing accord. The virtue is the openness of heart that allows true influence and the constancy that keeps it sincere; its mood tender attraction. The shadow is the influence that manipulates, attraction used as leverage, or the heart so guarded it cannot be moved at all.

Where else it appears

The mystery of attraction is named wherever love is a sacred force. Xian is the magnetism of the sacred marriage, the wooing of the soul by the divine in the Song of Songs, the alchemical affinity that draws Sol and Luna to conjoin. The lake on the mountain is the receptive heart that the strong, still power gently woos.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

It surfaces as the day's I Ching hexagram. Drawing Influence favours connection and courtship of every kind: open your heart, let sincere feeling draw others rather than pressure, and be receptive to the attraction that comes. Read it as a day for the gentle magnetism of true relationship. The Oracle's own note on this figure: “Mountain beneath Lake — influence; the young man courts the young woman.”

Why it matters

Influence matters because the deepest bonds are not seized but drawn, and the heart kept open is moved by what is real. It asks you to put aside manipulation and guardedness alike, to let yourself be genuinely attracted and attractive, and to trust the gentle pull of sincere feeling.

Correspondences

element

Metal

number

31