Hexagram 9, line 6
上九Line 6 of Small Accumulation
Nine at the top · 小畜 xiǎo chù
爻辭 The line text
既雨既處，尚德載，婦貞厲。月幾望，君子征凶。The topmost line, undivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed;—(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), there will be evil.
既雨既處，德積載也。君子征凶，有所疑也。'The rain has fallen and (the onward progress) is stayed:'—the power (denoted in the figure) has accumulated to the full. 'If the superior man prosecute his measures, there will be evil:'—he will find himself obstructed.
In plain words
At the top the clouds finally break: 'it has rained, it has settled; virtue is honoured and carried to the full.' The accumulation that the judgment described as 'dense clouds, no rain' is complete, and the small Image says so: 德積載也. But the same text warns 'for the wife, persistence is dangerous; the moon is nearly full; for the superior man to set out brings misfortune.' The yin principle that restrained the strong has reached its height, and like a moon just short of full it can only wane from here. The small Image reads 徵凶 as 'there is something to doubt' (有所疑也): a strong line that presses on at this point is walking into suspicion.
If this line is changing
What you were building up has arrived; do not keep pushing as if it had not, and do not let a position of quiet control harden into one that invites suspicion.
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 belongs to the upper trigram 巽 Xun (the Gentle) (wind).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yang, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
小畜 Small Accumulation becomes ䷄ 5 需 Attending
Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
What it becomes5 · 需 AttendingxūThe six lines of 小畜 Small Accumulation
- 初九Nine at the beginningreturning · one's own path · no blame
- 九二Nine in the second placedrawn back · central · not losing oneself
- 九三Nine in the third placespokes fall out · averted eyes · forcing it
- 六四Six in the fourth placesincerity · ruler of the hexagram · fear departs
- 九五Nine in the fifth placebound together · shared wealth · neighbour
- 上九Nine at the toprain has fallen · moon nearly full · do not advance
Read 小畜 Small Accumulation for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine at the top of hexagram 9, Small Accumulation, mean?
- At the top the clouds finally break: 'it has rained, it has settled; virtue is honoured and carried to the full.' The accumulation that the judgment described as 'dense clouds, no rain' is complete, and the small Image says so: 德積載也. But the same text warns 'for the wife, persistence is dangerous; the moon is nearly full; for the superior man to set out brings misfortune.' The yin principle that restrained the strong has reached its height, and like a moon just short of full it can only wane from here. The small Image reads 徵凶 as 'there is something to doubt' (有所疑也): a strong line that presses on at this point is walking into suspicion.
- What does hexagram 9 become when line 6 changes?
- Small Accumulation becomes hexagram 5, 需 Attending: Clouds rising to heaven: rain that will come in its time. Confident waiting — not idle, but nourishing yourself until the crossing is safe.
- Is line 6 of Small Accumulation 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).