Hexagram 56: Lv

Fire over Mountain · 火山旅 · Tendency: Inauspicious

Structure

• Number: 56 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷷
• Upper trigram: Li (Fire)
• Lower trigram: Gen (Mountain)
• Lines: yin yin yang yang yin yang (bottom to top)

The statement

小亨。旅贞吉。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram indicates being away from home, unstable relationships, or temporary circumstances. It is suitable for traveling light, following local rules, and reducing reliance on others. The greatest risk on a journey is willfulness and attachment; staying clear-headed and polite will minimize trouble.

A Buddhist reading

A traveller abroad is hemmed in on every side. Zhixu says correctness has no large or small: it is large in large matters and small in small ones, and wherever it is not lost nothing goes amiss. The art of travel lies in yielding yet holding the centre, so that stillness allows contentment anywhere and clinging to brightness allows one to see the moment and act. He goes further and treats the whole world as lodging, a place where great work is still done in passing. Contemplatively, a thought arises and is noticed, and once noticed it is broken open, so agitation and remorse find no hold.

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 55: Fengthe whole figure turned upside down
• Next: Hexagram 57: Xun
• Opposite: Hexagram 60: Jieevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 28: Da Guolines 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.