Hexagram 5 of 64
Waiting
需 Xū
Upper trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
Lower trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
The judgment
有孚，光亨。貞吉，利涉大川。
There is trust. Shining success. Holding firm brings good fortune. It is fitting to cross the great river.
The Great Image
雲上於天，需；君子以飲食宴樂。
Cloud climbs above the sky: Waiting. In the same way, the noble person takes food and drink and enjoys the feast.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
需于郊，利用恆，无咎。
Waiting in the outskirts. It is fitting to keep up constancy. No blame.
The outskirts are far from the trouble. If nothing yet presses on you, consider keeping to your ordinary routine.
Line 2 九二
需于沙，小有言，終吉。
Waiting on the sand. A little criticism. In the end, good fortune.
Sand is closer to the water, and here people begin to talk. Ask whether a little criticism is worth answering while you wait.
Line 3 九三
需于泥，致寇至。
Waiting in the mud. This draws raiders to come.
Mud is where a person gets stuck within reach of trouble. Consider whether you have come too close too soon, and what your position may be inviting.
Line 4 六四
需于血，出自穴。
Waiting in blood. Coming out of the hole.
The waiting has gone somewhere bloody, and the line points to a way out of the hole. If a situation has turned harmful, ask what the first step out could be and who could help you take it.
Line 5 九五
需于酒食，貞吉。
Waiting over wine and food. Holding firm brings good fortune.
Wine and food at the waiting place suggest that ease can be part of patience. Consider sharing a meal with the people who are waiting alongside you.
Line 6 上六
入于穴，有不速之客三人來，敬之終吉。
Entering the hole. Three guests come unbidden. Treat them with respect, and in the end, good fortune.
The three guests arrive unasked, and the line's one instruction is to treat them with respect. Ask who has turned up uninvited in your affairs, and what courtesy may show you about them.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is heaven below and water above. Rain clouds have gathered high in the sky and the rain has not fallen yet. It is about waiting with strength in reserve.
The judgment links waiting to trust and says that crossing a great river can follow. Holding firm here means staying steady while the moment ripens. Ask what you could do today to be ready when the time comes.
If your question is about a delayed decision at work or a slow answer from someone, tradition reads this as a time to eat, rest and keep your strength. The lines track how close you stand to danger, from the outskirts to sand, then mud, then blood. Ask how close you have moved.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/需), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.