Hexagram 7
The Army
Earth over Water
The judgment
贞丈人吉，无咎A crowd moving as one body needs an elder at the front. Remove that figure and discipline turns into appetite.
The image
Water sits inside the earth: hidden, present, not yet a river. Nothing buried stops seeping.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line that moves is read here, and read again in the hexagram it becomes.
- 初六Line 1
师出以律，否臧，凶
The group has just assembled and orders have not yet taken hold; pushing forward before discipline sets leaves nothing to rein in later.
Marked in the textominous
- 九二Line 2
在师中吉，无咎；王三锡命
Staying inside the ranks rather than above them, holding the middle, receiving the same authority handed back again and again.
Marked in the textauspiciousno blame
- 六三Line 3
师或舆尸，凶
The column has already marched out, and what returns is a cart of casualties; this step is hard to close either way.
Marked in the textominous
- 六四Line 4
师左次，无咎
Near the seat of command, choosing to pull back and camp rather than contest this ground, saving strength for elsewhere.
Marked in the textno blame
- 六五Line 5
田有禽，利执言，无咎。长子帅师，弟子舆尸，贞凶
Game has broken into the field; taking it in hand leaves no stain. Let the seasoned lead, and the column keeps its head. Hand the same weight to the unready, and what comes back is a cart of bodies under banners—on that road the march is finished.
Marked in the textno blameominous
- 上六Line 6
大君有命，开国承家，小人勿用
At the close, rewards and posts are handed out; those who work only for themselves cannot be placed in them.
Where each changing line leads
Flip one line and it is a different hexagram. These are the six it becomes.
This page is for reference. To get a hexagram from six throws, cast your own.
The classical text is the Zhouyi, public domain, checked against a Wikisource transcript. The readings are ours. Daily hexagram