震Zhen · Thunder
In one sentence
A sudden shock will give you a fright, but it will not really hurt you.
One clap of thunder after another: sudden events, scares, upheavals. Being afraid is normal; use the occasion to check and correct yourself. Above all, do not drop the most important thing you are holding. Steady yourself, and afterward you will still be able to talk and laugh.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- A sudden shake-up: a reshuffle, a project going wrong, criticism straight to your face. Being startled is normal, but this blow won't really hurt you. Don't scramble around in a panic; first keep hold of the most important thing in your hands, then use the occasion to check what in yourself needs fixing. Only someone who can stay composed can carry heavy responsibility.
- Love
- A sudden quarrel or an unexpected piece of news leaves you shaken. Don't make decisions while you're still frightened, and don't say things you can't take back. Work out what matters most in this relationship, and hold on to it. After the thunder passes, you can still sit down and laugh together. If you're single and hit by a sudden attraction or a sudden blow, the same applies: steady yourself first.
- Money
- A sudden expense, loss, or swing will give you a fright. Handling things in a panic is the real loss. Hold on to the most basic portion and don't let it go; look at the rest after the thunder has passed. Afterward, check where your money is sitting unsteadily, and fix that.
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. When the thunder strikes, people look around in fright; afterward they can talk and laugh at ease. The thunder startles everything for a hundred miles, yet the one leading the sacrifice does not drop the ladle or the fragrant wine. If you know how to be watchful and afraid, you will not lose what matters most.
The Tuan commentary
震，亨。震來虩虩，恐致福也。笑言啞啞，後有則也。震驚百里，驚遠而懼邇也。出可以守宗廟社稷，以為祭主也。
Zhen: "success." "Thunder comes and all is alarm": fear brings blessing. "There is talk and laughter": afterward there is a rule to follow. "The thunder startles a hundred miles": it startles those far away and frightens those nearby. One can come forth to guard the ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain, and serve as master of the sacrifice.
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
洊雷，震。君子以恐懼修省。
Thunder upon thunder: Zhen (Thunder). The noble one, in fear and awe, corrects and examines the self.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text震來虩虩，後笑言啞啞，吉。Thunder comes and all is alarm; afterward, talk and laughter. Good fortune.In plain wordsWhen the thunder strikes you shake with fear; afterward you are chatting and laughing. Good fortune. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text震來厲，億喪貝，躋于九陵。勿逐，七日得。Thunder comes with danger. A great deal of treasure is lost, and one climbs the nine hills. Do not chase it. In seven days it is regained.In plain wordsThe thunder strikes and it is very dangerous. Your money and goods are lost too, and all you can do is climb the high hills to take shelter. There is no need to chase after them. You are able to keep hold of yourself, and after a while what was lost will come back on its own. More on this line →
Six in the third place
Text震蘇蘇，震行无眚。Thunder leaves one dazed. If the shock sets one moving, there is no calamity.In plain wordsThe thunder leaves you scattered and helpless. If you use that fear to act quickly and correct what is wrong, there will be no disaster. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text震遂泥。Thunder, and then stuck in the mud.In plain wordsYou take the shock and plunge straight into the mud, unable to pull yourself out again. Caught in the middle of a heap of troubles, you cannot rouse yourself. More on this line →
Six in the fifth place
Text震往來厲，億无喪，有事。Thunder comes and goes: danger. There is no great loss, and there are things to be done.In plain wordsThe thunder comes and goes, and there is danger at every moment. But if you hold to the middle way, there will be no great loss, and you can still get done what needs doing. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text震索索，視矍矍，征凶。震不于其躬，于其鄰，无咎。婚媾有言。Thunder leaves one trembling, eyes darting about. To set forth brings misfortune. The thunder has not reached oneself, only one's neighbor: no blame. Among the in-laws there is talk.In plain wordsThe thunder has you shivering, eyes darting around in panic; going forward in this state will certainly bring misfortune. If you wake up and examine yourself while the thunder has only struck your neighbor and not yet you, there is no blame. Still, some gossip from those close to you cannot be avoided. 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
Zhen is one of the four cardinal hexagrams (Kan, Zhen, Li, Dui). It has no pentad of its own; instead its six lines govern six solar terms in turn: Spring Equinox, Clear and Bright, Grain Rain, Start of Summer, Grain Fills, Grain in Ear.