䷲The ArousingZhèn

The judgment

亨。震来虩虩，笑言哑哑。震惊百里，不丧匕鬯

One peal of thunder follows another and the shock travels a hundred li. The jolt is not the verdict; the question is whether the hand holding the cup stays level after it.

The image

Thunder breaks overhead and the ground underneath answers. Noise arrives first and the shaking comes after.

The six lines

Read from the bottom up. A line that moves is read here, and read again in the hexagram it becomes.

1. 初九Line 1

   震来虩虩，后笑言哑哑，吉

   At the very start, a sudden shock freezes the person in place; only after it passes does speech return.

   Marked in the textauspicious

2. 六二Line 2

   震来厉，亿丧贝，跻于九陵，勿逐，七日得

   Thunder bears down; the cowries scatter across the ground, and one climbs to a high ridge to wait it out. No chasing after what was lost—after seven days it comes back on its own.

   Marked in the textdanger

3. 六三Line 3

   震苏苏，震行无眚

   Still unsteady from the shaking, yet the constant motion itself carries one clear of the trouble settling where they stood.

4. 九四Line 4

   震遂泥

   Force sinks into soft ground and cannot move; the original push is held fast, so stay put and watch it settle.

5. 六五Line 5

   震往来厉，亿无丧，有事

   Shocks come and go from both sides; holding the middle ground, the work at hand continues piece by piece.

   Marked in the textdanger

6. 上六Line 6

   震索索，视矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其邻，无咎。婚媾有言

   The tremor reaches a neighbor, not yet oneself; withdrawing now leaves only talk among those close by.

   Marked in the textominousno blame

Where each changing line leads

Flip one line and it is a different hexagram. These are the six it becomes.

• 初九→EnthusiasmHexagram 16
• 六二→The Marrying MaidenHexagram 54
• 六三→AbundanceHexagram 55
• 九四→ReturnHexagram 24
• 六五→FollowingHexagram 17
• 上六→Biting ThroughHexagram 21