Hexagram 56
The Wanderer
旅 · 려
Fire over Mountain
The Judgment
The wanderer has no settled authority in the place where he lodges, and therefore can expect success only in modest measure. Good fortune depends upon correctness suited to travel: restraint, alertness, and respect for the customs and boundaries of others. Do not behave as though temporary shelter were an inherited estate. Attend carefully to small obligations, preserve your dignity without demanding precedence, and carry an inward rule that remains trustworthy when familiar protections and established relationships are far away.
The Image
Fire burns above the mountain, illuminating what it touches but not remaining in one dwelling. The noble one is therefore clear and cautious in administering penalties, and does not prolong imprisonment unnecessarily. Judgment should be exact, while the exercise of force should pass when its proper work is finished.
In the light of the Dao
To wander is to discover how little can truly be possessed. Shelter is borrowed, names are provisional, and the road keeps undoing settled claims. Travel lightly without becoming careless. The uncarved heart can meet each place freshly, finding repose in responsiveness rather than demanding that the world become home.
The two trigrams
Upper · outer
☲Fire
Clinging, clarity · Middle daughter
Lower · inner
☶Mountain
Keeping still · Youngest son
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line speaks only when it moves — when the cast gives it as 6 or 9.
First line · the beginning · yin, six
The wanderer becomes absorbed in petty concerns and behaves meanly in small dealings. Such conduct invites the very humiliation he fears. When this line moves, recover breadth and self-respect; insecurity is no excuse for making every encounter a narrow calculation.
Second line · the inner centre · yin, six
The wanderer finds an inn, keeps his belongings secure, and gains the faithful service of a young attendant. Modest arrangements now provide real support. Care for these relationships and resources with consistency; dependable shelter is worth more than impressive appearances.
Third line · the threshold · yang, nine
The wanderer's lodging burns, and the loyal attendant is lost. Harshness or overreaching has destroyed the supports that made travel bearable. Even continued determination faces danger now; reconsider your conduct before trying to establish another foothold by the same methods.
Fourth line · the minister · yang, nine
The wanderer reaches a stopping place and obtains possessions and an axe, yet his heart remains uneasy. Means of protection are not the same as belonging. Use the temporary security sensibly, but do not call an incomplete settlement the journey's fulfillment.
Fifth line · the ruler · yin, six
Shooting a pheasant, the wanderer loses one arrow but gains the bird. A measured expenditure opens the way to recognition and an honorable charge. Accept a small cost when the act is fitting; skill joined with propriety can win welcome among strangers.
Top line · the end · yang, nine
The bird's nest burns. The wanderer laughs at first, then cries out in grief, having lost his ox through heedless ease. Temporary prosperity has encouraged forgetfulness of dependence. When shelter and essential support are squandered, late lamentation cannot prevent misfortune.