Hexagram 31, line 1
初六Line 1 of Sensing
Six at the beginning · 咸 xián
爻辭 The line text
咸其拇。The first line, divided, shows one moving his great toes.
咸其拇，志在外也。'He moves his great toe:'—his mind is set on what is beyond (himself).
In plain words
Influence begins at the big toe: the lowest, least consequential part of the body stirs first. At the bottom of the hexagram the feeling is real but it has not yet moved anything — a toe twitches, the person has not stood up. The small Image says the will is already directed outward (志在外), toward the one it responds to, line four. Nothing has happened yet, and the text gives no verdict, good or bad, because there is nothing to judge.
If this line is changing
Notice the first stirring of a feeling or an attraction, but do not act on it yet; let intention mature before it moves the rest of you.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin 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 lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 4: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
咸 Sensing becomes ䷰ 49 革 Reform
Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
What it becomes49 · 革 ReformgéThe six lines of 咸 Sensing
- 初六Six at the beginningfirst stirring · intention · too early
- 六二Six in the second placerestlessness · stay put · wait to be moved
- 九三Nine in the third placefollowing others · impulse · regret
- 九四Nine in the fourth placethe heart · steadiness · scattered thoughts
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe back · no regret · beyond feeling
- 上六Six at the topwords only · the mouth · shallow influence
Read 咸 Sensing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 31, Sensing, mean?
- Influence begins at the big toe: the lowest, least consequential part of the body stirs first. At the bottom of the hexagram the feeling is real but it has not yet moved anything — a toe twitches, the person has not stood up. The small Image says the will is already directed outward (志在外), toward the one it responds to, line four. Nothing has happened yet, and the text gives no verdict, good or bad, because there is nothing to judge.
- What does hexagram 31 become when line 1 changes?
- Sensing becomes hexagram 49, 革 Reform: Fire in the lake: two that extinguish each other — change is forced. A revolution is believed only after it is done; supreme success when the time is ripe and the cause is right.
- Is line 1 of Sensing 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).