Hexagram 5 of 64
需 xū
Waiting
坎 (kǎn, Water) above · 乾 (qián, Heaven) below
The Judgment 卦辞
Strength lies ahead of you, and danger lies between. Wait with calm confidence — not passively, but prepared. The right moment arrives on its own.
The Image 大象
Clouds rise in the sky but no rain falls yet: waiting. The wise person eats, drinks and rejoices, keeping their strength ready.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 需 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
Waiting at the edge of town, far from the trouble. Keep your regular life going — no harm comes.
「需于郊，利用恒，无咎」
Line 2 · 九二
Waiting on the sand, close enough to hear criticism. Let the words pass — the end is good.
「需于沙，小有言，终吉」
Line 3 · 九三
Waiting in the mud, at the edge of danger. You have invited trouble — watch yourself.
「需于泥，致寇至」
Line 4 · 六四
Waiting in the wound itself. Listen, then step out of the hole you are in.
「需于血，出自穴」
Line 5 · 九五
Waiting with wine and food. Keep yourself nourished and steady — good fortune.
「需于酒食，贞吉」
Line 6 · 上六
Unexpected guests arrive at your door. Receive them with respect, and the ending is good.
「入于穴，有不速之客三人来，敬之终吉」
If you drew this in a reading
A pattern of tension and craft. This hexagram belongs to the large middle family of mixed patterns: it works, but only along its own grain. Read the Judgment closely — mixed hexagrams usually name the exact condition on which their promise depends.
In yes/no questions this hexagram reads as “not yet clear” — the answer hinges on timing and execution.
The trigrams give the flavor: 坎 (Water) above — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty — over 乾 (Heaven) below — creative force — initiative, clarity, persistence. Where those two energies meet, 需 is born.
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