小畜Xiaoxu · Small Restraint
In one sentence
One last push is still missing and it won't come off — the clouds are thick, but the rain hasn't fallen.
You have built up a little, but your strength is still small and cannot hold on to anything big. Things are brewing; it is not yet the time for results. Don't force it. Keep saving up bit by bit, work on yourself, and wait until the conditions are a little more solid.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The clouds are thick, but the rain has not fallen. You have already done a good deal, but your strength is still small and you are one breath short; for now you cannot push out a big result. Do not force it, and do not lose heart either. Keep building up skill, results and trust bit by bit, keep refining yourself, and wait until conditions are thicker.
- Love
- There is liking, and there are signs, but it is not yet time for it to land. If you press the other person now for a definite answer, you most likely will not get one. Spend time together slowly and gently, put yourself in good order, and let the feeling build up bit by bit. The rain has not fallen yet; do not demand it.
- Money
- You have saved a little, but it is still small; it cannot carry big plans, and it cannot hold on to big money. This is not the time for a large commitment. Keep saving bit by bit, in small sums, and do not despise how little it is. The rain you want has not fallen yet, so do not spend as though it already had.
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. Dark clouds are packed thick but no rain has fallen yet; the clouds come from the western outskirts — not enough has been stored up, and it is not yet time to see results.
The Tuan commentary
小畜，柔得位而上下應之，曰小畜。健而巽，剛中而志行，乃亨。密雲不雨，尚往也。自我西郊，施未行也。
Xiaoxu: the yielding gains its place, and those above and below respond to it. This is called Xiaoxu. Strong and gentle; the firm is in the center and its purpose is carried out: hence "success". "Dense clouds but no rain": they are still moving on. "Coming from our western outskirts": the giving has not yet been carried out.
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
風行天上，小畜。君子以懿文德。
Wind moves across heaven: Xiaoxu (Small Restraint). The noble one refines the grace of cultivated virtue.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text復自道，何其咎，吉。Returning by one's own path. What blame could there be? Good fortune.In plain wordsWalking back along your own right path, how could there be any fault? Good fortune. You want to go forward but are being held back, so keep to your own road and don't let yourself be led off. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text牽復，吉。Drawn back hand in hand. Good fortune.In plain wordsHand in hand with your companions, you return to the right path together. Good fortune. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text輿說輻，夫妻反目。The spokes come off the cart. Husband and wife glare at each other.In plain wordsThe spokes have come off the cart wheel, and husband and wife have fallen out. You are held back by someone you should not have attached yourself to; you cannot move, you cannot swallow your anger, and so a quarrel breaks out. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text有孚，血去惕出，无咎。There is sincerity. Blood goes away and fear departs. No blame.In plain wordsWith sincerity in your heart, the harm passes and the fear and dread leave too. No blame. You are the weaker side; what you rely on is gentleness, sincerity and other people's help. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text有孚攣如，富以其鄰。There is sincerity, binding all together. Wealth that carries the neighbors along.In plain wordsWith sincerity you bind everyone firmly together, and you use your own strength to carry along the people on either side of you. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text既雨既處，尚德載。婦貞厲，月幾望，君子征凶。The rain has come and has settled. Virtue is honored until it fills the cart. For the wife, persisting is dangerous. The moon is nearly full. If the noble one sets forth, misfortune.In plain wordsThe rain has fallen and has stopped — the storing up has reached its limit. It was filled bit by bit. But when the weaker side grows so full that it overpowers the stronger, there is danger even in doing right; the moon is almost full, and to go forward now brings misfortune. 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, Xiaoxu belongs to the first pentad of Grain Fills, “Sow thistle flowers” (May 21 to May 25, 2027).