Hexagram 5, line 3
九三Line 3 of Attending
Nine in the third place · 需 xū
爻辭 The line text
需于泥，致寇至。The third line, undivided, shows its subject in the mud (close by the stream). He thereby invites the approach of injury.
需于泥，災在外也。自我致寇，敬慎不敗也。'He is waiting in the mud:'—calamity is (close at hand, and as it were) in the outer (trigram). 'He himself invites the approach of injury:'—if he be reverent and careful, he will not be worsted.
In plain words
'Waiting in the mud brings the arrival of robbers.' Line three is the top of Qian, at the water's very edge, and it has pushed so close that it is stuck in the mud of the bank — too near to be safe, too committed to turn easily. Yang in a yang place, strong and impatient, it has brought the trouble on itself; the small Image says 'the calamity is outside' (災在外也), meaning the danger of Kan lies just beyond, and that having 'invited the robbers oneself' (自我致寇) one can still avoid defeat through reverence and care (敬慎不敗也). The line is not condemned; it is told that the way out of a self-made exposure is caution, not more force.
If this line is changing
You have pressed too close and drawn attention you did not want; do not compound it by pushing on — go carefully and respectfully, and you will not be beaten.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 lower trigram 乾 Qian (the Creative) (heaven).
- It corresponds (應) with line 6: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
需 Attending becomes ䷻ 60 節 Measure
Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
What it becomes60 · 節 MeasurejiéThe six lines of 需 Attending
- 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
Read 需 Attending for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the third place of hexagram 5, Attending, mean?
- 'Waiting in the mud brings the arrival of robbers.' Line three is the top of Qian, at the water's very edge, and it has pushed so close that it is stuck in the mud of the bank — too near to be safe, too committed to turn easily. Yang in a yang place, strong and impatient, it has brought the trouble on itself; the small Image says 'the calamity is outside' (災在外也), meaning the danger of Kan lies just beyond, and that having 'invited the robbers oneself' (自我致寇) one can still avoid defeat through reverence and care (敬慎不敗也). The line is not condemned; it is told that the way out of a self-made exposure is caution, not more force.
- What does hexagram 5 become when line 3 changes?
- Attending becomes hexagram 60, 節 Measure: Water above the lake: the lake holds just so much. Success through limits — but bitter, excessive limitation cannot be sustained; measure that fits is the point.
- Is line 3 of Attending 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).