Fellowship & Possession in Great Measure: Popularity and Wealth Are Two Different Things — Mix Them Up and You’ll Lose Both

Fellowship and Possession in Great Measure are the 13th and 14th of the 64 Hexagrams.

Fellowship is 天火同人 (Tianhuo Tongren). It has Li / The Clinging below and Qian / The Creative above — fire rises below, heaven sits above. Since fire moves upward in the same direction as heaven, the hexagram is named Fellowship.

Possession in Great Measure is 火天大有 (Huotian Dayou). It has Qian / The Creative below and Li / The Clinging above — heaven lies below, fire burns above. Fire blazing in the sky shines far and wide, hence the name Possession in Great Measure.

The upper and lower trigrams of these two hexagrams are exact reverses of each other.

The Hexagram Judgment of Fellowship reads: "Fellowship with others in the open countryside. Success. It furthers one to cross the great water. It furthers the perseverance of the superior person."

"In the open countryside" refers to a vast, boundless wilderness where anyone is welcome to come.

The Hexagram Judgment of Possession in Great Measure reads: "Possession in Great Measure. Sublime success."

Just four characters: 元亨 (Yuan Heng, "sublime success"). It is a rare, straightforward judgment among the 64 Hexagrams.

The six lines of Fellowship explain the proper boundaries of "fellowship."

Nine at the Beginning: "Fellowship with others at the gate. No blame." Seeking fellowship right at one’s gate has a limited scope, but it is not wrong.

Six in the Second Place: "Fellowship with others in the clan. Humiliation." Limiting fellowship only to one’s own clan leads to humiliation.

Nine in the Third Place: "He hides his weapons in the thick grass, climbs the high hill, and for three years does not rise up." Concealing troops in the undergrowth, climbing a high slope to watch, and daring not to act for three years.

Nine in the Fourth Place: "He mounts the wall, but does not attack. Good fortune." Climbing the city wall yet choosing not to launch an attack brings good fortune.

The Nine in the Fifth Place says: first weeping and wailing, then laughing aloud — one must wait for the great army to win the battle before they can meet again.

Nine at the Top: "Fellowship with others in the suburbs. No remorse." Seeking fellowship in the suburbs brings no remorse.

The Six in the Second Place is the most critical line: "Fellowship with others in the clan. Humiliation."

"Clan" refers to one’s own kin or a small inner circle. Sticking only to one’s own kind often leads to a narrow path.

The Hexagram Judgment, by contrast, speaks of "the open countryside" — the wilderness. The difference lies right here: one is the clan, the other is the open wild.

The line "He hides his weapons in the thick grass, and for three years does not rise up" from the Nine in the Third Place of Fellowship also hits close to home. Hiding troops in the grass, climbing a high slope to watch, and daring not to act for three years — this is the state of having a guilty conscience: you are wary of others, and others are wary of you, so nothing gets done.

Now let’s look at Possession in Great Measure.

The six lines of Possession in Great Measure talk about how to hold on to what you have once you possess it.

Nine at the Beginning: "No association with harm. No blame. In difficulty, there is no blame." Not engaging with harmful things means no fault, but one must stay aware of hardships.

Nine in the Second Place: "A great cart is used to carry the load. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. No blame." A large cart loaded with goods can move forward without fault.

Nine in the Third Place: "A prince offers it to the son of heaven. A petty person cannot do this." A feudal lord presents tribute to the emperor — a petty person is incapable of this.

Nine in the Fourth Place: "He does not overstep his bounds. No blame." Do not flaunt or show off; there is no fault in this.

Six in the Fifth Place: "His truth is like a bond, and his dignity is imposing. Good fortune." Treating others with sincerity while maintaining dignified bearing brings good fortune.

Nine at the Top: "He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further." Blessed by heaven, it is good fortune with nothing unfavorable.

This Nine at the Top line is very special — it is the only line among the 64 Hexagrams that speaks of being "blessed by heaven."

But note its position: it is at the very top. That means this "heavenly blessing" does not come from your hard work alone — it comes because you got all the previous five lines right.

The Nine at the Beginning avoids harm; the Nine in the Second Place can bear heavy responsibilities; the Nine in the Third Place knows how to contribute; the Nine in the Fourth Place does not show off; the Six in the Fifth Place has both sincerity and dignity.

Only when you have fulfilled these five points will you finally receive the "blessing of heaven."

Now let’s put the two hexagrams side by side.

Fellowship is horizontal: it is about your relationship with other people.

Possession in Great Measure is vertical: it is about your relationship with resources.

Many people get these two things backwards.

They think that once you have wealth, people will naturally flock to you — make some money, and friends will multiply on their own. But in the end, they find everyone only came for the money, and as soon as the money dries up, everyone leaves. That is having Possession in Great Measure without understanding Fellowship.

Others think that having connections will bring money. They socialize nonstop, attend endless dinner parties, and build a huge network — but when they actually need help, not a single person can be relied on. That is having Fellowship without understanding Possession in Great Measure.

The Fellowship hexagram teaches: fellowship must first be in the open countryside, not confined to the clan.

If you only stick to a small circle, that circle will grow tighter and tighter, and narrower and narrower. True fellowship means opening the door and welcoming whoever comes.

But this does not mean you should be a people-pleaser. The Nine in the Fourth Place says: "He mounts the wall, but does not attack. Good fortune." You climb the wall, yet you choose not to attack.

You have the power to strike, but you do not use it. That is the proper measure of fellowship. People will only dare to approach you if you have strength but do not abuse it.

The Possession in Great Measure hexagram teaches: the greatest danger after gaining wealth is showing off.

The Nine in the Fourth Place says "do not overstep his bounds." "Peng" here means grand, ostentatious display. Don’t make a big, flashy show of what you have.

The Six in the Fifth Place says: "His truth is like a bond, and his dignity is imposing." You need both sincerity and authority.

Putting these two together is interesting: you shouldn’t show off, but you also can’t lack dignity.

Showing off is wearing "what I have" on your face. Dignity is carrying "what I have" in your bones.

The former makes people covet what you have; the latter makes people respect you.

The Nine at the Top of Fellowship says: "Fellowship with others in the suburbs. No remorse."

The suburbs are closer than the open countryside, but farther than the gate. This position brings "no remorse," not "good fortune."

It means you haven’t done the best possible, but you haven’t done anything wrong either.

That is the state most people are in. They can’t achieve the total openness of the open countryside, but they aren’t as narrow as the clan circle either.

Achieving "no remorse" is actually no easy feat.

The Nine at the Top of Possession in Great Measure says: "He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further."

This sounds like luck, but it is actually a result.

You only get this outcome after getting the first five lines right. It is not good fortune falling from the sky — it is you positioning yourself to be able to receive good fortune when it comes.

So when you put these two hexagrams together, they speak to one very practical truth:

Fellowship determines how far you can go. Possession in Great Measure determines how long you can hold on to what you have.

People who can’t go far usually have too narrow a circle.

People who can’t hold on to what they have usually show off too soon.

First figure out whether what you lack right now is people or resources — then decide what to do next.