Hexagram 56, line 1
初六Line 1 of Traveling
Six at the beginning · 旅 lǚ
爻辭 The line text
旅瑣瑣，斯其所取災。The first line, divided, shows the stranger mean and meanly occupied. It is thus that he brings on himself (further) calamity.
旅瑣瑣，志窮災也。'The stranger is mean and meanly occupied:'—his aim is become of the lowest character, and calamity will ensue.
In plain words
'The wanderer is petty and fussy; this is how he brings calamity on himself.' Line one is yin in a yang place at the very bottom of the mountain, the lowest point of the journey, and 瑣瑣 is the picture of someone fretting over trifles — haggling, suspicious, concerned with small things. A traveller has few resources, and the one thing he cannot afford is to be small. The small Image traces the trouble to its source: 志窮災也, the will has become exhausted and narrow, and the calamity follows from that. Wang Bi: the lowest position, the weakest line, and no largeness of mind to make up for either.
If this line is changing
In a situation where you are a newcomer with little to fall back on, the one thing you control is the size of your concerns; stop fussing over small slights and costs, because that fussing is itself what will go wrong.
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
旅 Traveling becomes ䷝ 30 離 Brightness (Fire)
Fire upon fire: brightness that clings to what feeds it. Success through correctness and clarity; tend the flame like a docile cow — gently and continuously.
What it becomes30 · 離 Brightness (Fire)líThe six lines of 旅 Traveling
- 初六Six at the beginningpetty · small-minded · self-made trouble
- 六二Six in the second placea lodging · provisions · a loyal servant
- 九三Nine in the third placeburned lodging · servant lost · harsh to the lowly
- 九四Nine in the fourth placea shelter · axe in hand · heart not at ease
- 六五Six in the fifth placeshooting the pheasant · one arrow lost · praise and appointment
- 上九Nine at the topnest burned · laughing then wailing · ox lost too easily
Read 旅 Traveling for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 56, Traveling, mean?
- 'The wanderer is petty and fussy; this is how he brings calamity on himself.' Line one is yin in a yang place at the very bottom of the mountain, the lowest point of the journey, and 瑣瑣 is the picture of someone fretting over trifles — haggling, suspicious, concerned with small things. A traveller has few resources, and the one thing he cannot afford is to be small. The small Image traces the trouble to its source: 志窮災也, the will has become exhausted and narrow, and the calamity follows from that. Wang Bi: the lowest position, the weakest line, and no largeness of mind to make up for either.
- What does hexagram 56 become when line 1 changes?
- Traveling becomes hexagram 30, 離 Brightness (Fire): Fire upon fire: brightness that clings to what feeds it. Success through correctness and clarity; tend the flame like a docile cow — gently and continuously.
- Is line 1 of Traveling 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).