无妄Wuwang · Innocence
In one sentence
Honestly do what ought to be done. Don't count on luck, and don't make rash moves.
A hexagram of being genuine and free of falsehood. Walk the right path and things go through in a big way; if your motives are not right, trouble follows. You may also run into an accident you did nothing to bring on. Don't speculate, and don't hope for windfalls. Do well what should be done and let the results come as they will. This is not a time to stir things up for selfish ends.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- Do your own job honestly and well, and things go very smoothly. Do not take shortcuts, do not be clever, and do not stir up new moves for private ends; when the motive is not right, something will go wrong. You may also run into trouble you did not bring on yourself; in that case handle it calmly and do not let it throw you off your method. Let the results come as they will.
- Love
- Treat people with a true heart: no calculating, no acting, no approaching anyone with some other purpose. That is enough. Do not force things and do not test the other person. If your intentions are not right, for instance you are only afraid of being lonely or want to gain something, then do not go forward. If you meet an upset that you did not cause, do not be quick to blame the other person.
- Money
- With money, do not count on luck: no speculating, no gambling, no hoping for a windfall from the sky. Earn honestly the share that is yours to earn, and that is the smooth way. This is not a time to stir things up in order to grab a little more. If you happen to suffer a loss you did not bring on yourself, simply accept it; do not make rash moves to win it back.
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. If your intentions are not right, there will be calamity; it is not favorable to undertake anything.
The Tuan commentary
无妄，剛自外來，而為主於內。動而健，剛中而應，大亨以正，天之命也。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往。无妄之往，何之矣？天命不祐，行矣哉？
Wuwang: the firm comes from outside and becomes the master within. Movement and strength; the firm is in the center and is answered. Great success through being correct: this is the mandate of heaven. "If one is not upright there is calamity. It is not favorable to go anywhere": when Wuwang sets out, where would it go? If the mandate of heaven does not help, can one go on?
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
天下雷行，物與无妄。先王以茂對時，育萬物。
Thunder moves under heaven, and each thing is given its innocence: Wuwang (Innocence). The ancient kings, in rich accord with the seasons, nurtured the ten thousand things.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text无妄，往吉。Innocence. Going forward brings good fortune.In plain wordsNot a trace of falsehood in the heart. Go forward like this and there is good fortune. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text不耕穫，不菑畬，則利有攸往。Not plowing for the sake of the harvest, not clearing land for the sake of the ripe field. Then it is favorable to have somewhere to go.In plain wordsDon't think about the harvest while you are plowing; don't long for a mature field while you are breaking new ground. Do the task in front of you without presuming a reward, and then going forward is favorable. More on this line →
Six in the third place
Text无妄之災。或繫之牛，行人之得，邑人之災。An undeserved calamity. Someone tethers an ox; the passerby's gain is the villager's calamity.In plain wordsYou did nothing wrong, yet disaster strikes: someone tied an ox by the road, a passerby walked off with it, and it is the people living in the village who get questioned and investigated. An undeserved calamity. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text可貞，无咎。One can stay true. No blame.In plain wordsYou can hold to things as they are, and there is no blame. This is not the time to accomplish anything. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text无妄之疾，勿藥有喜。An undeserved illness. Take no medicine and there will be joy.In plain wordsYou did nothing wrong and yet fell ill. No need for medicine; it will get better on its own. It is not your problem, so don't go stirring things up. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text无妄，行有眚，无攸利。Innocence. Acting brings calamity. Nothing is favorable.In plain wordsYou have done nothing wrong, but the road has come to its end; go any further and there is calamity, with no good in it at all. 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, Wuwang belongs to the second pentad of Cold Dew, “Sparrows enter the sea and turn into clams” (October 13 to October 17, 2026).