Is line 2 of Troops 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Hexagram 7, line 2

九二Line 2 of Troops

Nine in the second place · 師 shī

in the midst of the armythe king's favourthe commander

爻辭 The line text

在師中吉，无咎，王三錫命。

The second line, undivided, shows (the leader) in the midst of the host. There will be good fortune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of his favour).

Its symbolism

在師中吉，承天寵也。王三錫命，懷萬邦也。

'He is in the midst of the host, and there will be good fortune:'—he has received the favour of Heaven. 'The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of) his favour:'—(the king) cherishes the myriad regions in his heart.

In plain words

'In the midst of the army: good fortune, no blame; the king confers his charge three times.' Line two is the ruler of Shi — the only yang line in the hexagram, central in Kan, the commander surrounded by his troops. It is in a yin place, which the tradition reads as fitting: a general's strength is exercised from inside the ranks, not from above them. It corresponds to the yielding ruler at five, who is the king conferring the charge. The small Image says the good fortune comes from 'receiving heaven's favour' (承天寵也), and the threefold commission from the king's wish to 'cherish the ten thousand states' (懷萬邦也). This is the 'seasoned leader' (丈人) of the judgment, trusted by the one above and holding the centre of the one below.

If this line is changing

You are the one actually running this, and the people above you know it; stay in the middle of the work rather than above it, and let the trust placed in you be renewed by results.

Where the line stands

A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang 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 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 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
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

師 Troops becomes ䷁ 2 坤 Earth

Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.

What it becomes2 · 坤 Earthkūn

The six lines of 師 Troops

Read 師 Troops for a question about

Love and relationships Work and career A yes-or-no decision

Questions about this line

What does Nine in the second place of hexagram 7, Troops, mean?: 'In the midst of the army: good fortune, no blame; the king confers his charge three times.' Line two is the ruler of Shi — the only yang line in the hexagram, central in Kan, the commander surrounded by his troops. It is in a yin place, which the tradition reads as fitting: a general's strength is exercised from inside the ranks, not from above them. It corresponds to the yielding ruler at five, who is the king conferring the charge. The small Image says the good fortune comes from 'receiving heaven's favour' (承天寵也), and the threefold commission from the king's wish to 'cherish the ten thousand states' (懷萬邦也). This is the 'seasoned leader' (丈人) of the judgment, trusted by the one above and holding the centre of the one below.
What does hexagram 7 become when line 2 changes?: Troops becomes hexagram 2, 坤 Earth: Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
Is line 2 of Troops 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Cast a reading Hexagram 7 in full Changing lines explained

Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).