Hexagram 5 for work
Hexagram 5 Attending for work and career
In work Xu is the strong plan that must wait for conditions: the capable team facing a river it cannot yet cross. The judgment says the crossing will be favourable (利涉大川) — not now, but as a result of waiting correctly — and the Tuan commentary describes the ideal as 'strong and firm, yet not falling into the pit'. This is the launch date that is not yet, the negotiation whose other side is not ready, the promotion that depends on something outside your control.
The lines tell you how close to the edge you stand. In the outskirts and on the sand (lines one and two), keep the routine and ignore the mutters. In the mud (line three), you have crowded the obstacle and must back off with care. Inside the water (lines four to six), the stance shifts: yield when hurt, be at ease when you have what you need, and when the wait ends with the arrival of unexpected people, receive them well. Xu rewards the one who is nourished, not the one who is restless.
The hexagram in brief
Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
Hold to sincerity and wait for the right moment; the great river is crossed when the time is right, not when you are impatient.
The judgment
需：有孚，光亨，貞吉。利涉大川。Hsü intimates that, with the sincerity which is declared in it, there will be brilliant success. With firmness there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 需 Attending has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningwaiting in the open country · constancy · far from danger
- 九二Nine in the second placewaiting on the sand · a little gossip · good in the end
- 九三Nine in the third placewaiting in the mud · inviting robbers · reverent care
- 六四Six in the fourth placewaiting in blood · out of the pit · yielding and listening
- 九五Nine in the fifth placewine and food · steadfast good fortune · central and correct
- 上六Six at the topinto the pit · three uninvited guests · honour them
The same hexagram for
Questions
- What does hexagram 5, Attending, mean for a career question?
- In work Xu is the strong plan that must wait for conditions: the capable team facing a river it cannot yet cross. The judgment says the crossing will be favourable (利涉大川) — not now, but as a result of waiting correctly — and the Tuan commentary describes the ideal as 'strong and firm, yet not falling into the pit'. This is the launch date that is not yet, the negotiation whose other side is not ready, the promotion that depends on something outside your control.
- What does Hexagram 5, 需 Attending, mean?
- Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).