Hexagram 56 of 64
The Traveler
旅 Lǚ
Upper trigram: 離 Lí, fire
Lower trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
The judgment
小亨，旅貞吉。
Small success. For the traveler, holding firm brings good fortune.
The Great Image
山上有火，旅；君子以明慎用刑，而不留獄。
Above the mountain there is fire: this is The Traveler. In the same way, the noble person is clear and careful in applying penalties and does not let cases linger.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
旅瑣瑣，斯其所取災。
The traveler is petty and fussy. This is how disaster is brought on.
A traveler who haggles over every small thing draws trouble along the road. Ask which small grievances you could drop while you are away from familiar ground.
Line 2 六二
旅即次，懷其資，得僮僕貞。
The traveler reaches an inn, with funds held close, and gains a young servant who holds firm.
An inn, money kept close and a steady helper are the whole of what this traveler has. Ask what few things would make you secure in an unfamiliar place, and who you could rely on there.
Line 3 九三
旅焚其次，喪其僮僕，貞厲。
The traveler's lodging burns. The young servant is lost. Holding firm brings danger.
Both the shelter and the helper are gone in this line. Consider how you have treated the people who were looking after you, and whether staying rigid now adds to the danger.
Line 4 九四
旅于處，得其資斧，我心不快。
The traveler stops at a resting place and gains funds and an axe. My heart is unhappy.
The traveler has a place to stop and the means to get by, and the heart is still unhappy. Ask what is missing that funds and tools could never supply.
Line 5 六五
射雉一矢亡，終以譽命。
Shooting a pheasant, one arrow is lost. In the end there is praise and an appointment.
One arrow is the price of the pheasant here. Ask what small cost you would accept to show people in a new place what you can do.
Line 6 上九
鳥焚其巢，旅人先笑後號咷。喪牛于易，凶。
The bird burns its nest. The traveler first laughs and afterward howls and wails. Losing the ox through neglect. Misfortune.
The laugh comes before the howl, and the nest is gone. Ask what you are being careless about because things seem easy, and what you would have to replace if it were lost.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is mountain below and fire above, a fire that moves across a still hillside and does not settle. It stands for being a stranger, someone passing through a place that belongs to other people.
The judgment offers only a small success and says that for a traveler holding firm brings good fortune. A person away from home has few friends and little standing, so conduct counts for more. Ask how you want to behave in a place where no one knows you yet.
If your question is about a new city, a temporary job or a period between homes, tradition reads this as a time for courtesy and light baggage. The lines warn about pettiness, burned lodgings and the kind of early laughter that ends in tears.
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/旅), 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.
Where the sources differ
- In lines 六二 and 九三, Wikisource (A) writes 僮僕 and Project Gutenberg (B) writes 童僕. Both mean a young servant. Wikisource also gives the note 一作「童」, an alternative reading.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.