Xu, nine in the third placeHexagram 5, line 3 · Xu (Waiting) · changing to 60
The line
In plain wordsWaiting in the mud. You are already about to sink into danger. If you keep pushing ahead this hard and recklessly, you are bringing disaster on yourself.
The Image commentary on this line
需于泥，災在外也。自我致寇，敬慎不敗也。
"Waiting in the mud": the disaster is still outside. "This invites the robbers to come": it is I myself who bring them. With respect and caution there is no defeat.
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
慎Proceed with care. The text gives no verdict, but the picture holds an obstacle and a warning. Slow down and watch the point it warns about.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You are already standing at the edge of trouble; charge ahead now and you are bringing disaster on yourself. Hold back, take extra care in what you say and do, and you will not fail.
- Love
- The relationship has reached the point where one wrong touch could set something off. Pressing for answers, falling out, or saying harsh things now only brings trouble on yourself. Rein in your temper and be careful at every turn; that is how you hold steady.
- Money
- Your feet are already in the mud. Raising the stakes or trying to prove your nerve now is inviting losses to your own door. Stop where you are and go carefully, step by step, and you won't come to grief.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Xu.
Line position
A yang line in a yang place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the top line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Third place: the top of the lower trigram, a place of risk. A moment of transition. Be on guard.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three backs, old yang), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Xu (Waiting); when this line changes it becomes Jie (Limitation): hexagram 5 changing to 60.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Jie (Limitation)
Have restraint, but do not be so harsh that even you cannot bear it.