Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder震為雷 · Zhèn

• Upper trigram　Zhèn, Thunder: arousal, beginnings and sudden change.
• Lower trigram　Zhèn, Thunder: arousal, beginnings and sudden change.

The Judgment

Success. Thunder comes, bringing fright; then laughter and talk. The thunder startles for a hundred miles, yet the sacrificial spoon and wine are not dropped.

亨。震來虩虩，笑言啞啞。震驚百里，不喪匕鬯。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Peal after peal of thunder: a sudden shake-up. If something unexpected happens today, steady yourself first; once the shock passes you may be more alert than before.

Something to do today

• When something unexpected happens, take a deep breath first, then write down your next step.

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.