屯Zhun · Difficult Beginnings
In one sentence
Every beginning is hard, and right now you are in the hardest part of the beginning.
Things have only just started. There are many loose ends and much resistance, like a seed just pushing up through the soil. The prospects are good, but for now it is heavy going. Don't be in a hurry to go far. First get a firm footing, find helpers, and untangle the mess one thread at a time.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- Things have only just begun. There are many loose ends and a lot of resistance, and finding it hard is normal; it does not mean the direction is wrong. For now, do not hurry to expand or press on far ahead. First set your foundation, find people who can help you, divide up the work, and untangle the mess one thread at a time.
- Love
- The relationship is at its hardest point, the beginning. You have not yet worn into each other, and misunderstandings and obstacles are many. Do not hurry to demand an outcome or a commitment, and do not decide you are a bad match just because it is hard. Sort out what is in front of you one thing at a time, and let the feeling slowly put down roots.
- Money
- At the starting stage more goes out than comes in, and it is a strain. That is simply what a beginning looks like. Do not hurry to set up something big, and do not borrow money to force things along faster. Get your accounts straight first, find reliable helpers, and talk about reaching outward only once you are standing firmly.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsThings go through in a big way, and it is favorable to stay true. Every beginning is hard, so don't be in a hurry to press ahead; first lay your foundation and find your helpers.
The Tuan commentary
屯，剛柔始交而難生，動乎險中，大亨貞。雷雨之動滿盈，天造草昧，宜建侯而不寧。
Zhun: the firm and the yielding first meet, and difficulty is born. Movement in the midst of danger: great success through staying true. Thunder and rain move and fill everything. Heaven's making is rough and dark. It is fitting to "appoint lords", and not to rest easy.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
雲雷屯，君子以經綸。
Clouds and thunder: Zhun (Difficult Beginnings). The noble one sorts out the tangled threads and sets them in order.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text磐桓，利居貞，利建侯。Circling on the spot. It is favorable to stay put and stay true. It is favorable to appoint lords.In plain wordsGoing around in circles, unable to move forward. You have hit difficulty right at the start: first settle down and keep to the right course, get a firm footing and find good helpers. That is favorable. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text屯如邅如，乘馬班如。匪寇婚媾，女子貞不字，十年乃字。Stuck and turning back, the horses mounted yet milling about. Not a robber but a suitor. The young woman stays true and does not give her word; after ten years she gives it.In plain wordsAdvancing and retreating, unable to get anywhere even on horseback. The one who comes is not a robber but a suitor; yet you keep to the right course and don't say yes, and only after a long time, when the truly right person comes, do you give your word. Don't settle just because things are hard. More on this line →
Six in the third place
Text即鹿无虞，惟入于林中。君子幾不如舍，往吝。Chasing deer without a guide, one only ends up deep in the forest. The noble one reads the signs: better to give up. Going on brings humiliation.In plain wordsChasing a deer with no guide, you will only plunge headlong into the forest. When things look wrong, it is better to let go; keep up the chase and you will lose face and lose out. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text乘馬班如，求婚媾。往吉，无不利。The horses mounted yet milling about. Seek the marriage alliance. Going brings good fortune. Nothing that is not favorable.In plain wordsOn horseback but hesitating, not moving forward. This is the time to set aside your pride and go to that reliable person below you to work together. Go, and there is good fortune; nothing about it is unfavorable. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text屯其膏，小貞吉，大貞凶。His bounty is held up. In small things, staying true brings good fortune; in great things, persisting brings misfortune.In plain wordsYou have good things to give, but you cannot get them out to people. You hold a position, but you are stuck in difficulty and your helpers are weak. In small matters, keeping to the right course can still bring good fortune; in big matters, even doing the right thing brings misfortune. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text乘馬班如，泣血漣如。The horses mounted yet milling about. Tears of blood stream down.In plain wordsOn horseback with no way forward and no way back, weeping until the tears run with blood. The difficulty has reached its limit, no one is there to help, and only worry and fear remain — this road is a dead end. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Zhun belongs to the third pentad of Winter Solstice, “Springs begin to stir” (January 1 to January 4, 2027) and the first pentad of Minor Cold, “Geese turn north” (January 5 to January 9, 2027).