易經 · I Ching · #5
䷄
Xu · Attending · Waiting
需
Waiting — one of the sixty-four archetypal situations in the Book of Changes.
The Judgment
With honest confidence, waiting is fruitful. The danger is ahead, but patience carries you through.
The Image
Clouds rise in the sky and rain will come in time, so the wise person eats, drinks and stays cheerful.
How to use it
Wait without anxiety. Look after yourself and let the right moment arrive.
Structure
Six lines: 坎 Water (Kan) above and 乾 Heaven (Qian) below. Lines are read from the bottom up.
Related hexagrams
- ䷢ 35. Prospering · Progress — Opposite: every line reversed
- ䷅ 6. Arguing · Conflict — Reversed: the same lines turned upside down
- ䷥ 38. Polarizing · Opposition — Inner (nuclear): the hidden structure formed by lines 2 to 5
Each BaZi pillar maps to a hexagram through its stem and branch. Coin casting uses a different method — both are valid paths into the Book of Changes. The I Ching is a traditional wisdom text. It describes the character of a moment, not a fixed outcome.