Hexagram 37.2 — The Family (Second Line)

Original Text & Translation

「无攸遂,在中馈,贞吉。」 — No following of pursuits. Attending to nourishment at the center. Persistence brings good fortune.

The classical image is of one who prepares food and maintains the household's inner workings. "No following of pursuits" means refraining from chasing external goals or distant projects. The focus is inward: feeding, organizing, stabilizing. "In the center" indicates the second line's position—central to the lower trigram, the place of balance and receptivity. Persistence in this humble, essential work yields blessing.

Core Meaning

Line two occupies the central position of the lower trigram, representing the inner life of the family or organization. It is soft (yin) and correctly placed, embodying receptivity, attentiveness, and nurturing strength. Unlike the first line (threshold) or third line (transition), the second line is the stable core—the one who ensures continuity through daily acts of care.

This line speaks to anyone in a supporting, sustaining, or caretaking role: the partner who manages the home, the team member who maintains morale, the friend who listens without agenda, the leader who tends culture before chasing metrics. The wisdom here is that strength flows from the center outward. When the center is nourished, the whole structure holds. When it is neglected, everything else becomes brittle.

"No following of pursuits" is not passivity—it is strategic focus. It means recognizing that this moment calls for consolidation, not conquest. The fortune comes from doing the unsexy, essential work: cooking the meal, having the conversation, organizing the space, holding the rhythm. These acts are not preliminary to success; they are success.

Symbolism & Imagery

The image of "attending to nourishment at the center" evokes the hearth—the place where raw ingredients become sustenance, where cold becomes warmth, where dispersed individuals become a gathered whole. In traditional Chinese households, the kitchen was not merely functional; it was the axis of daily life, the place where care was made tangible.

This symbolism extends to any system: a family, a team, a creative practice, a relationship. The "center" is where inputs are transformed into outputs, where attention becomes coherence, where presence becomes trust. The second line asks: Are you feeding the center? Are you maintaining the conditions that allow everything else to work?

The restraint from "pursuing" also carries symbolic weight. It suggests that ambition, when mistimed, drains the core. Chasing external validation or distant goals while the foundation is unfed leads to collapse. The dragon may hide (line one) or rise (line five), but the nourisher stays—and in staying, creates the ground on which all movement depends.

Action Guidance

Career & Business

• Prioritize internal operations: This is the time to strengthen processes, improve team communication, document workflows, and ensure everyone has what they need to do their work well.
• Resist the lure of new initiatives: Launching new projects or pursuing external opportunities now may deplete the core. Finish what is in progress; stabilize what exists.
• Tend to morale and culture: Check in with team members. Create space for feedback. Address small frictions before they become large ones. Culture is your "nourishment at the center."
• Organize resources: Audit tools, budgets, and timelines. Ensure clarity and accessibility. The unsexy work of organization is the foundation of execution.
• Be the steady hand: In times of uncertainty, your consistency and presence are more valuable than bold moves. Lead by maintaining rhythm and reliability.

Love & Relationships

• Focus on daily care: Small, consistent acts of attention—cooking together, asking about the day, maintaining shared routines—build trust more than grand gestures.
• Create space for nourishment: Literally and metaphorically. Share meals. Organize the home. Make the environment conducive to rest and connection.
• Listen without fixing: Your role right now is to hold space, not to solve. Presence is the nourishment.
• Avoid external distractions: This is not the time to seek validation outside the relationship or to chase new social circles. Deepen what is already here.
• Tend to your own center first: You cannot nourish others if you are depleted. Rest, eat well, regulate your nervous system. Self-care is part of the work.

Health & Inner Work

• Return to basics: Sleep, hydration, whole foods, gentle movement. The second line is not about optimization hacks; it is about foundational care.
• Establish daily rhythms: Wake and sleep at consistent times. Build a morning routine. Regularity is nourishment for the nervous system.
• Cook your own food: If possible, prepare meals from scratch. The act of cooking is itself a practice of presence and care.
• Limit external stimulation: Reduce social media, news, and other inputs that scatter attention. Create quiet, centered time.
• Practice embodiment: Yoga, tai chi, breathwork, or simple stretching. Reconnect with the felt sense of being in a body that needs tending.

Finance & Strategy

• Audit and organize: Review accounts, categorize expenses, ensure you understand cash flow. Clarity is the first step of nourishment.
• Strengthen reserves: Build or maintain an emergency fund. The center must be stable before expansion is wise.
• Avoid speculative moves: This is not the time for high-risk investments or new ventures. Protect what you have; let it consolidate.
• Invest in infrastructure: Tools, education, systems that improve efficiency and reduce friction. These are "nourishing" investments.
• Delay major purchases: Unless they directly support the core (health, home, essential work tools), defer them. Simplicity preserves strength.

Timing, Signals, and Readiness

The second line of Hexagram 37 marks a phase of consolidation and inner focus. It is not a time for launching, expanding, or seeking external recognition. Instead, it is a time to ensure that the foundation is sound, the core is nourished, and the daily rhythms are sustainable.

Signs that you are aligned with this line: you feel drawn to organize, simplify, and care for what is already present. You notice that small acts of attention yield disproportionate peace. You are less interested in proving yourself and more interested in creating conditions for flourishing.

Signs that you are resisting this line: you feel restless, scattered, or driven to chase new opportunities despite inner depletion. You neglect the basics—sleep, meals, communication—in favor of external goals. You feel resentful of "maintenance" work and long for something more exciting.

The transition out of this phase comes naturally when the center is stable. You will know because the urge to expand will arise from fullness rather than lack, from readiness rather than restlessness. Until then, stay at the hearth. Feed the fire. Tend the center.

When This Line Moves

A moving second line in Hexagram 37 often signals a shift from internal nourishment to a new phase where the care you have given begins to bear fruit in external form. The change may involve stepping into a more visible role, or it may simply mean that the stability you have cultivated now allows for expansion without risk of collapse.

Consult the hexagram that results from this line changing to understand the specific direction of the shift. The key is that the movement is earned through the work of nourishing the center—it is not a leap, but a natural unfolding.

Practical takeaway: if this line is moving, honor the transition by completing the work of consolidation before stepping outward. Finish organizing, clarify what has been learned, and ensure that the rhythms you have built can sustain themselves in your partial absence. The center must hold even as you move.

Concise Summary

Hexagram 37.2 teaches that strength flows from the center outward. This is a time to nourish what already exists—relationships, routines, resources, and inner stability—rather than pursuing external ambitions. The fortune comes from presence, care, and consistency. Feed the hearth. Tend the core. Let expansion wait until the foundation is sound. In doing so, you create the conditions for everything else to flourish.