Hexagram 6: Conflict天水訟 · Sòng

• Upper trigram　Qián, Heaven: strength, creation and the drive to move forward.
• Lower trigram　Kǎn, Water: danger, flow and keeping faith through difficulty.

The Judgment

Sincere, yet blocked; be wary. Stopping halfway brings good fortune; pushing to the end brings misfortune. It furthers to see a wise person; it does not further to cross the great water.

有孚，窒惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Disagreement and dispute. Today suits focusing on clarifying facts and clearing up misunderstandings, and stopping while things are good rather than arguing to the bitter end.

Something to do today

• In a disagreement, first write down what both sides agree on, then talk about the differences.

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.