Six Lines, Six Places

Same situation: why is one person thriving and another on edge?

Original

六爻相雜，唯其時物也。其初難知，其上易知，本末也。……二與四同功而異位，其善不同，二多譽，四多懼，近也。……三與五同功而異位，三多凶，五多功，貴賤之等也。

In plain words

The six lines mix together, each answering to its own time and matter. The first line is hard to judge and the top line easy, because one is the root and the other the tip. ... Lines two and four share a function but differ in place, so their fortunes differ: two is often praised, four often afraid, because four is too close. ... Lines three and five share a function but differ in place: three meets much misfortune, five much success, because of the difference in rank.

Key words

時shíThe time: the whole situation, which you don't choose. Each hexagram is one such situation.
位wèiPlace: the six positions, counted from the bottom, first to top. Where you stand within the situation.
中zhōngThe middle: line two centres the lower trigram, line five the upper. Both tend to fare well.

Reading it step by step

Stack two trigrams and you have a six-line hexagram. Anyone who starts reading them soon notices that inside a single hexagram, the six lines fare very differently. This page asks one question: in this situation, where are you standing?

First: the hexagram is the time; the line is your place. A hexagram stands for a whole situation, the kind of circumstance that is bigger than any one person and that you didn't choose. The six lines are six positions inside it, read from the bottom up: first, two, three, four, five, top. Even the best hexagram has a poor place in it; even the hardest has a good one. So don't only ask which hexagram you're in. Ask which line is yours.

A note on names: a yang line is called nine and a yin line six, which gives names like "first nine," "six in the second place," "nine in the fifth."

Second: "two is often praised, four often afraid," because distance shapes the mood. Two and four are both even places with a similar nature, yet they differ, and the reason given is "closeness." Line five is the ruler of the hexagram. Four sits right next to it, like a minister at a king's elbow, every move watched, so it worries. Two sits in the middle of the lower trigram, far from five yet answering it, so it can do its own part well and earn praise. At work: who sleeps better, the deputy who shadows the CEO, or the team lead at the centre of their own team? The Changes prizes the middle; being centred often matters more than holding the "correct" slot.

Third: "three meets misfortune, five success," and "the first is hard to judge, the top easy." Three is the top of the lower trigram, about to step across into the upper one, caught between going on and going back; it is rarely lucky. Five is the centre of the upper trigram, with both rank and balance, so it achieves much. The first line has only just entered, with plenty still to change, so it is hard to call. At the top the shape is set and the matter is ending, so it is easy to read. These are tendencies, not rules, but they give a reader somewhere to start.

upper trigram

4 · often afraidright beside five

5 · much successcentre of the upper

top · endingthe shape is set

lower trigram

1 · hard to judgejust arrived

2 · often praisedcentre of the lower

3 · much misfortunecrossing the threshold

Read from the bottom up; the centres (2 and 5) fare best

In life: someone new in a job is usually at the first line, so don't judge too soon. Someone just promoted, squeezed between two levels, is often at three or four and needs the most care. A truly central place, with someone answering you, is where you can act freely. When you find your line, ask: am I too close to someone? Am I in the middle of crossing a threshold?

Next, the words at the end of the line texts: good fortune, misfortune, regret, distress and "no blame."

One line to carry

Don't just ask which hexagram. Ask which line is yours.

Today's question

Pick something you're involved in now. If it were a hexagram, which line would you be? Too close to five, or crossing three?

Quick check

According to the Commentary, why is line four “often afraid”?

Next pageGood, Bad, Regret, and No BlamePage 5

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