Hexagram 16: Yu

Thunder over Earth · 雷地豫 · Tendency: Auspicious

Structure

• Number: 16 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷏
• Upper trigram: Zhen (Thunder)
• Lower trigram: Kun (Earth)
• Lines: yin yin yin yang yin yin (bottom to top)

The statement

利建侯行师。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram indicates a shift in momentum and preparation for launch. It is suitable for inspiring the team, arranging plans, and preparing in advance. Going with the flow saves effort, but it is also easy to slack off when things feel easy. The more excited you are, the more solidly you should prepare.

A Buddhist reading

Yu is gladness, and inwardly it is the joy of realizing what has no fixed form. Ouyi Zhixu watches the danger hidden inside that joy, noting that ease slides quickly into negligence, which is why appointing helpers and setting armies in motion are named together: whoever has found joy in practice should turn toward helping others, wisdom in action serving as the appointed helper and steady conduct as the army. The second line, firm as rock and not waiting out the day, he praises as seeing the whole within a single instant and cutting through the moment it appears.

After Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655), whose Chan commentary on the Changes reads each hexagram as a stage of practice.

The statement is quoted from the Book of Changes, which is in the public domain. The English reading on this page was prepared for this library.

Related hexagrams

• Previous / Inverted: Hexagram 15: Qianthe whole figure turned upside down
• Next: Hexagram 17: Sui
• Opposite: Hexagram 9: Xiao Xuevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 39: Jianlines two to four below, three to five above

Related

• Liu Yao Divination ChartLiu Yao casts a hexagram about one specific matter and reads its structure. Unlike BaZi or Zi Wei, which describe a person, Liu Yao describes how a situation stands at a particular moment. This page walks through the full process from casting to attribution.
• Mei Hua Yi Shu CalculatorMei Hua Yi Shu is traditionally attributed to Shao Yong. What sets it apart is how freely it casts: a time, a spoken number, a direction or something noticed in passing will all serve. It attaches no stems and no relatives, reading the trigrams directly. This page covers casting through to the subject and object.