Hexagram 16, Yù (Enthusiasm): Line 5

豫卦六五 · 雷地豫 · 中文版

六五:贞疾,恒不死。

The line (Legge)

The fifth six, divided, shows one with a chronic complaint, but who lives on without dying.

Small Image commentary

'(The subject of) the fifth six has a chronic complaint:' - this is shown by his being mounted on the strong (line). 'He still lives on without dying:' - he is in the central position, (and its memories of the past) have not yet perished.

象曰:六五贞疾,乘刚也。恒不死,中未亡也。

In plain words

Persistently ill, yet never dying. The fifth line is yielding in the place of honour but rides on the strong fourth line and is held back by it, like a long illness; but it is central, so it does not perish. The Small Image says the illness comes from riding on the strong line, and it does not die because the middle way is not lost.

Applying it to your situation

If you have been held back and uneasy for a long time, this line suggests that keeping to the middle way lets you hold on. What is keeping you going now?

Position

A broken (yin) line in the fifth place, which is a yang (odd) place, so it is not in its proper place. It holds the centre of the upper trigram. Its partner is line 2; both are yin, so they do not respond.

If this line moves

With this line moving alone, Yù changes into Hexagram 45 Cuì (Gathering Together). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·豫之萃.

The hexagram

Hexagram 16 Yù (Enthusiasm). The Judgment: Yu indicates that, (in the state which it implies), feudal princes may be set up, and the hosts put in motion, with advantage.

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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction. Plain-English readings and position notes by this site.

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