Hexagram 51

Shock

In practice

The judgment

When unexpected situations come along that would frighten others, keep control and act calmly, without losing your composure. This attitude will get you results in what you want and let you succeed where others fail.

The poetry

The Shaking

Success. Thunder comes, and there is dread; then laughter and easy talk. The thunder alarms a hundred leagues around, yet neither the ladle nor the sacrificial wine is let fall.

The image

Thunder upon thunder: the shaking. So the noble person, in fear and trembling, cultivates and searches within.

The lines

  1. Line 6上六

    Your main enemy now is a lack of calm: catching the worry that fills the air over situations that aren't affecting you. If you can step away from that atmosphere and return to your center, things will settle.

    Thunder, shiver upon shiver; the eyes restless and lost. Setting out brings misfortune. The thunder strikes not oneself but the neighbor: no fault. Over the marriage there will be talk.

  2. Line 5六五

    Obstacles come one after another and seem endless. Still, staying connected to your center and true to your purpose will keep you from losses.

    Thunder going and coming: danger. Of much, nothing is lost; there is a duty to carry out.

  3. Line 4九四

    You can't see clearly what's holding you back, so the things you do don't settle matters. It's a time to wait until conditions change.

    Thunder sinks into the mud.

  4. Line 3六三

    The blows you're taking right now aren't caused by fate. They come more from within, and that makes things harder. Once you realize this, you'll make the corrections and resolve the situation.

    Thunder that stuns and stuns. If thunder sets one going, no disaster.

  5. Line 2六二

    Situations may come up that seem hard to face, and you may even suffer losses. There's nothing to fear: what you lose you'll get back, and you'll be on the path of achievement again.

    Thunder comes: danger. Countless cowries are lost; one climbs the nine hills. Do not chase them: in seven days they are found.

  6. Line 1初九

    You see what's coming before it happens. That makes you worry ahead of time, but it also sets you looking for solutions, so when others start to worry, you'll already be focused on solving things.

    Thunder comes, and there is dread; afterward, laughter and easy talk. Good fortune.

Its 63 transformations

Depending on which lines move in your cast, Shock turns into another hexagram. Pick the lines from your cast.

One moving line

6

Two moving lines

15

Three moving lines

20

Four moving lines

15

Five moving lines

6

All six lines moving

1

The classical text

震:亨。震來虩虩,笑言啞啞。震驚百里,不喪匕鬯。

象曰:洊雷,震;君子以恐懼修省。

初九:震來虩虩,後笑言啞啞,吉。

六二:震來厲,億喪貝,躋于九陵,勿逐,七日得。

六三:震蘇蘇,震行无眚。

九四:震遂泥。

六五:震往來厲,億无喪,有事。

上六:震索索,視矍矍,征凶。震不于其躬,于其鄰,无咎。婚媾有言。

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Have a question? Toss the coins