Case Study-2026-012 Interview: Why a Promising Interview Still Failed

An I Ching divination case study on a job interview, showing why the interview failed despite the company’s interest.

Apr 15, 2026

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Time of divination: July 29, 2024, at 4:03 PM.
Stem and branch time: I E year, VIII H month, I G day (void: E and F).

A female querent asked whether her interview the next day would succeed. She obtained 47.Kun to Kan.

Judgment: Obtaining a Six Compatibles hexagram transforming into a Six Clashes hexagram is usually inauspicious. If it were Six Clashes transforming into Six Compatibles, it would usually indicate misfortune first and auspiciousness later. In this case, obtaining the Six Compatibles hexagram 47.Kun transforming into Kan, a Six Clashes hexagram, already basically indicated that the interview would not succeed.

A factor that could easily lead to misjudgment: In the hexagram, there appeared the situation of the corresponding line transforming into return generation, and the corresponding line also generated the host line. In hexagram interpretation, the corresponding line represents the interviewing company, while the host line represents the job seeker, that is, the querent. The corresponding line generating the host line shows that the company was in fact quite interested in the querent herself. This can easily cause many people to mistakenly think that the interview would succeed. However, in the H monthly branch and on the G day, the descendants line, M water, was in the state of rest and constraint, so even though the siblings line transformed into return generation, its force was still not sufficient to generate and prosper the host line wife and wealth line.
The reason for failure: Although the company had interest, the host line representing the querent herself was not supported by either the daily branch or the monthly branch. Wood entered the tomb in the monthly branch H, and the daily branch G drained wood, so wood was in the state of rest and constraint, with its own strength being too weak. More importantly, in this hexagram the wife and wealth line held the host position. This suggested that the key issue in the matter lay in money or salary.

Conclusion: Although the company showed goodwill toward the querent, the interview would still not succeed. The Six Compatibles hexagram transforming into a Six Clashes hexagram already indicated an unfavorable outcome, and the host line was also too weak. Moreover, with the wife and wealth line holding the host position, the core issue pointed to compensation. Therefore, it was judged that the most likely cause of failure would be that the salary terms could not be agreed upon.

Feedback: The final feedback confirmed exactly this. The two sides had too great a gap in salary expectations, and the interview ultimately did not succeed.

If there are certain themes you would like to see in future case studies, welcome to leave a comment and share what kinds of divination cases interest you most.

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