Hexagram 6 of 64
讼 sòng
Conflict
乾 (qián, Heaven) above · 坎 (kǎn, Water) below
The Judgment 卦辞
A contest of wills is forming. Even if you are right, push it to the end and you lose. Seek mediation, stop halfway, and do not pursue a beaten opponent.
The Image 大象
Heaven and water move away from each other: conflict. The wise person, at the beginning of a dispute, thinks carefully about how it must end.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 讼 has its own classical text. If a line in your cast is changing, its text is the heart of your reading.
Line 1 · 初六
Do not let the dispute drag on. Some words will fly — but the end is good if you drop it early.
「不永所事，小有言，终吉」
Line 2 · 九二
You cannot win this conflict. Withdraw to your own three hundred households — retreat keeps everyone safe.
「不克讼，归而逋，其邑人三百户，无眚」
Line 3 · 六三
Live on the merit you have already earned. It feels precarious, but it ends well.
「食旧德，贞厉，终吉」
Line 4 · 九四
Losing the contest, turn back and accept fate's change. Settle into what is — good fortune.
「不克讼，复即命渝，安贞吉」
Line 5 · 九五
The dispute reaches the highest judge — and this is truly your day. Great good fortune.
「讼，元吉」
Line 6 · 上九
Even granted the ceremonial belt of victory, it is stripped away three times before dusk. Wins from conflict do not stay won.
「或锡之鞶带，终朝三褫之」
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: 乾 (Heaven) above — creative force — initiative, clarity, persistence — over 坎 (Water) below — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty. Where those two energies meet, 讼 is born.
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