Hexagram 31 'Influence' in the I Ching. One of 64 archetypes underlying Human Design.
Hexagram 31: Influence — The Magnetic Art of Mutual Attraction
Hexagram 31, Xián (咸), is one of the I Ching's most quietly powerful images. Often translated as Influence, Wooing, or Mutual Attraction, it speaks to the moment when two beings stir toward each other — not through pressure or argument, but through resonance. Read it when you feel the unmistakable pull toward a person, a project, or a new direction, and you want to understand how to act on that attraction without breaking it.
The Structure: Lake on the Mountain
The upper trigram is Dui (Lake), the joyous, youngest daughter. Below sits Gen (Mountain), the still, youngest son. In the family of trigrams, these two are naturally drawn to one another — a pairing that mirrors the magnetism described by the hexagram itself.
The image is striking: a lake resting on a mountain. Water has found a way to rise to the summit, held in place by the mountain's form. Nothing is forced. The mountain does not strain upward; the lake does not crash down. Their meeting is a state of grace, suggesting that true influence is the kind that draws rather than drives.
The Judgment: Success Through Receptivity
The judgment is unusually clear and favorable: "Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. It furthers one to have somewhere to go." This is one of the rare hexagrams that opens with unqualified success — but it comes with a subtle condition. You must keep moving. The attraction itself is not the destination; it is the beginning of a journey.
The commentary warns, however, that this is also a fragile hexagram. Influence at the level of pure feeling is a door that can be opened or closed in a breath. If you rush, you shatter the spell. If you are dull or manipulative, the resonance dies.
The Image: Empty Receptivity
The attached image advises the wise to "encourage people to approach" through "empty-minded receptivity." This is the practical heart of the hexagram. Influence is not a tactic. It is a quality of presence — the ability to be open without grasping, attentive without agenda.
A practical translation: when you are trying to influence a partner, a client, a child, or a collaborator, drop the script. Hold the space. Let the other person's nature meet yours without being bent into a shape you've pre-decided. This is not passivity; it is a kind of disciplined stillness that allows attraction to do its work.
The Six Lines: A Map of Wooing
The lines trace a remarkable journey from the body's extremities to its core:
- Line 1 — The toe: Influence begins before words. A slight movement, a felt impulse. If you withdraw it now, no harm is done, but you must attend to it.
- Line 2 — The thighs: The attraction moves into the legs — you start walking toward the object of influence. Beware of moving before you are ready.
- Line 3 — The hips: A turning point. The hips symbolize the body's center of gravity. Influence here can become grasping, clinging to the object rather than meeting it. Repose is needed.
- Line 4 — Perseverance brings good fortune; remorse disappears: The first fully favorable line. By staying true through the awkward middle, the relationship clarifies. A walk with a companion in mind steadies the heart.
- Line 5 — The back/spine: Influence reaches the deepest structural part of the self. This is sincerity at the level of being. No need to prove anything; the influence radiates on its own.
- Line 6 — The tongue: Influence at the level of speech. Here the hexagram warns: empty words, seduction through rhetoric, are a form of "being led by the nose." The mouth can destroy what the body built.
Practical Guidance for Living the Hexagram
When Influence appears in a reading, consider these questions:
- Where am I trying to push, when I could be inviting? Replace force with presence.
- Am I truly receptive, or just performing receptivity? Empty-mindedness is not the same as blankness.
- What is the quality of my attention toward this person or project? The lines suggest that influence lives in the small, often unconscious gestures — the toe before the speech.
- Am I moving toward a goal, or am I stuck in oscillation? The judgment's reminder to "have somewhere to go" is real: attraction without direction dissipates.
The gift of Hexagram 31 is the experience of being genuinely moved toward another, and the recognition that this movement, when honored, opens doors no argument ever could. Its shadow is the easy slide into manipulation, seduction, or hollow charm — using the language of attraction while denying its substance.
Live this hexagram well, and influence flows in both directions at once, like a lake resting on a mountain: still on the surface, alive in the depths.