Hexagram 3 of 64
屯 zhūn
Difficulty at the Beginning
坎 (kǎn, Water) above · 震 (zhèn, Thunder) below
The Judgment 卦辞
Birth is messy. The first stirrings of something new meet confusion and obstruction. Do not abandon it — organize, seek helpers, and push gently through.
The Image 大象
Clouds and thunder gather: the image of struggle at birth. The wise person untangles the threads and brings order to the confused.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 屯 has its own classical text. If a line in your cast is changing, its text is the heart of your reading.
Line 1 · 初九
Pace back and forth at the start. Stay grounded, gather helpers, and do not march ahead alone.
「磐桓，利居贞，利建侯」
Line 2 · 六二
Hesitating, circling, the horses balk. What approaches is not a raider but a suitor — patience, even ten years, completes it.
「屯如邅如，乘马班如。匪寇婚媾，女子贞不字，十年乃字」
Line 3 · 六三
Chasing the deer without a guide, you enter the forest. The wise let go — pursuing brings only trouble.
「即鹿无虞，惟入于林中。君子几不如舍，往吝」
Line 4 · 六四
The horses balk — so go and ask directly. Seeking union now brings good fortune.
「乘马班如，求婚媾，往吉，无不利」
Line 5 · 九五
Resources pool but do not spread. Small commitments work; grand ones fail. Share generously instead.
「屯其膏，小贞吉，大贞凶」
Line 6 · 上六
The horses balk, and tears of blood flow. Overwhelmed at the very start — stop, rest, do not push.
「乘马班如，泣血涟如」
If you drew this in a reading
A demanding pattern. This is one of the demanding patterns. It does not say "doom" — it says "the way through is narrow." Slow down, protect what matters, refuse shortcuts, and let the hexagram teach you the specific discipline it describes.
In yes/no questions this hexagram leans no — the pattern counsels holding back.
The trigrams give the flavor: 坎 (Water) above — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty — over 震 (Thunder) below — arousing shock — movement, initiative, sudden change. Where those two energies meet, 屯 is born.
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