Hexagram 24, line 6
上六Line 6 of Returning
Six at the top · 復 fù
爻辭 The line text
迷復，凶，有災眚。用行師，終有大敗，以其國君，凶；至于十年，不克征。The topmost line, divided, shows its subject all astray on the subject of returning. There will be evil. There will be calamities and errors. If with his views he put the hosts in motion, the end will be a great defeat, whose issues will extend to the ruler of the state. Even in ten years he will not be able to repair the disaster.
迷復之凶，反君道也。'The evil consequent on being all astray on the subject of returning' is because the course pursued is contrary to the proper course for a ruler.
In plain words
The top line is 'confused about returning (迷復): evil, calamity and self-made disaster', and then the longest text in the hexagram — an army set in motion that ends in great defeat, harm reaching the ruler, ten years without recovery. It is the yin line furthest from the returning yang, at the end of Kun, with nowhere left to go. The small Image says the evil comes from going against the way of a ruler (反君道也). 程頤 glosses 災 as misfortune from outside and 眚 as the harm one brings on oneself; the line has both, because a person who has missed the moment of return and acts in force from that confusion drags everyone with them.
If this line is changing
If you have lost the way back and are tempted to push forward with everything you have, stop; acting at scale from confusion is the one move this hexagram condemns without reservation.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
復 Returning becomes ䷚ 27 頤 Jaws / Nourishment
Thunder at the foot of the mountain, in the shape of open jaws: nourishment. Correct nourishing brings good fortune — watch what you feed yourself and others, and what comes out of your mouth.
What it becomes27 · 頤 Jaws / NourishmentyíThe six lines of 復 Returning
- 初九Nine at the beginningreturn before going far · no regret · the ruler of Return
- 六二Six in the second placea fine return · yielding to the good · next to the yang
- 六三Six in the third placerepeated return · danger · no blame
- 六四Six in the fourth placereturning alone · midway among the many · following the way
- 六五Six in the fifth placeearnest return · self-examination · central
- 上六Six at the toplost return · calamity · against the ruler's way
Read 復 Returning for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the top of hexagram 24, Returning, mean?
- The top line is 'confused about returning (迷復): evil, calamity and self-made disaster', and then the longest text in the hexagram — an army set in motion that ends in great defeat, harm reaching the ruler, ten years without recovery. It is the yin line furthest from the returning yang, at the end of Kun, with nowhere left to go. The small Image says the evil comes from going against the way of a ruler (反君道也). 程頤 glosses 災 as misfortune from outside and 眚 as the harm one brings on oneself; the line has both, because a person who has missed the moment of return and acts in force from that confusion drags everyone with them.
- What does hexagram 24 become when line 6 changes?
- Returning becomes hexagram 27, 頤 Jaws / Nourishment: Thunder at the foot of the mountain, in the shape of open jaws: nourishment. Correct nourishing brings good fortune — watch what you feed yourself and others, and what comes out of your mouth.
- Is line 6 of Returning in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).