Hexagram 31, line 2
六二Line 2 of Sensing
Six in the second place · 咸 xián
爻辭 The line text
咸其腓，凶，居吉。The second line, divided, shows one moving the calves of his leg. There will be evil. If he abide (quiet in his place), there will be good fortune.
雖凶居吉，順不害也。Though 'there would be evil; yet, if he abide (quiet) in his place, there will be good fortune:'—through compliance (with the circumstances of his condition and place) there will be no injury.
In plain words
Influence reaches the calves, the part of the leg that cannot move on its own — it follows the thigh and the foot. Stirring here means moving before one is called: 'evil', says the text; 'if he abides in his place, good fortune.' Line two is yin in a central, correct place and corresponds to the ruler at five; its nature is to be moved by the one above, not to run ahead. The small Image explains the paradox: staying put is good because compliance does no harm (順不害).
If this line is changing
If you feel pulled to move first, stay where you are and let the other party come to you; the attraction is real, the timing is not yours to force.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
咸 Sensing becomes ䷛ 28 大過 Great Excess
The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
What it becomes28 · 大過 Great Excessdà guòThe 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 in the second place of hexagram 31, Sensing, mean?
- Influence reaches the calves, the part of the leg that cannot move on its own — it follows the thigh and the foot. Stirring here means moving before one is called: 'evil', says the text; 'if he abides in his place, good fortune.' Line two is yin in a central, correct place and corresponds to the ruler at five; its nature is to be moved by the one above, not to run ahead. The small Image explains the paradox: staying put is good because compliance does no harm (順不害).
- What does hexagram 31 become when line 2 changes?
- Sensing becomes hexagram 28, 大過 Great Excess: The lake drowning the trees: the ridgepole bends under too much weight. An extraordinary situation, strong in the middle and weak at the ends — something must give way or be done.
- Is line 2 of Sensing 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).