Hexagram 10: Treading天澤履 · Lǚ

• Upper trigram　Qián, Heaven: strength, creation and the drive to move forward.
• Lower trigram　Duì, Lake: joy, exchange and open conversation.

The Judgment

Treading on the tiger's tail; it does not bite. Success.

履虎尾，不咥人，亨。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Moving forward carefully. When a situation needs tact today, be courteous and take each step with care; with the right manner you will pass through safely.

Something to do today

• Before an important conversation, decide what tone to open with.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.