Shi · The Army

The meaning

What the name means Shi is an army, and by extension leading a group in one task.

The picture Water hidden in the earth, like soldiers hidden among the people: scattered in ordinary times, gathered when needed.

The sense of the whole The whole hexagram is about organisation and discipline. To lead people the rules must be clear and the leader someone people trust. Enthusiasm does not last; rules carry a long road.

In plain words: what this hexagram says

To lead a group in one task you need rules and a leader people trust. Discipline outlasts enthusiasm.

The upper trigram is Earth and the lower is Water: Earth above, Water below. When you read it, first picture the two together as a scene, then set it against the original below. The plain words speak only of stance and do not foretell.

The judgement

貞，丈人吉，無咎。

The image

地中有水，師；君子以容民畜眾。

The six lines

From the bottom up, the first line is the lowest. When you cast this hexagram and a line is changing, read the matching one. The original is classical Chinese.

1. 初六師出以律，否臧兇。
2. 九二在師中，吉無咎，王三錫命。
3. 六三師或輿尸，兇。
4. 六四師左次，無咎。
5. 六五田有禽，利執言，無咎。長子帥師，弟子輿尸，貞兇。
6. 上六大君有命，開國承家，小人勿用。

To learn how to read a hexagram, see "How to read a hexagram"; for changing lines, see "Changing lines and the resulting hexagram".