Hexagram 10, line 6
上九Line 6 of Stepping
Nine at the top · 履 lǚ
爻辭 The line text
視履考祥，其旋元吉。The sixth line, undivided, tells us to look at (the whole course) that is trodden, and examine the presage which that gives. If it be complete and without failure, there will be great good fortune.
元吉在上，大有慶也。'There will be great good fortune,' and that in the occupancy of the topmost line:—this is great matter for congratulation.
In plain words
At the top: 'look at the path trodden and examine the omens; if the circuit is complete, great good fortune.' The hexagram of conduct ends not with a step but with a look back over all the steps — 旋 is the full turn, the course brought round to its close. Where the top line of most hexagrams is excess, here it is the only line to earn 元吉, because conduct is judged by its whole, and this line sees the whole. The small Image: great good fortune at the top is 'a great occasion for celebration' (大有慶也).
If this line is changing
Before you take the next step, review the whole course you have walked and judge it honestly; if it holds together, this is the moment of greatest good fortune.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 3: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
履 Stepping becomes ䷹ 58 兌 Pleasure (Lake)
Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
What it becomes58 · 兌 Pleasure (Lake)duìThe six lines of 履 Stepping
- 初九Nine at the beginningplain treading · simplicity · going alone
- 九二Nine in the second placelevel road · the recluse · inner calm
- 六三Six in the third placeone-eyed, lame · bitten by the tiger · overreach
- 九四Nine in the fourth placetiger's tail · trembling caution · good end
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeresolute tread · peril in correctness · the ruler
- 上九Nine at the topreview the path · signs examined · great blessing
Read 履 Stepping for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the top of hexagram 10, Stepping, mean?
- At the top: 'look at the path trodden and examine the omens; if the circuit is complete, great good fortune.' The hexagram of conduct ends not with a step but with a look back over all the steps — 旋 is the full turn, the course brought round to its close. Where the top line of most hexagrams is excess, here it is the only line to earn 元吉, because conduct is judged by its whole, and this line sees the whole. The small Image: great good fortune at the top is 'a great occasion for celebration' (大有慶也).
- What does hexagram 10 become when line 6 changes?
- Stepping becomes hexagram 58, 兌 Pleasure (Lake): Lake upon lake: joy. Success through correctness — inner firmness, outer gentleness; friends discussing and practising together, a joy that makes people forget their toil.
- Is line 6 of Stepping in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).