Hexagram 3 Line 5: 九五
Zhun —屯 —Difficulty at the Beginning
Position: Line 5 (Upper Trigram)九五 —Yang ⚊ (Solid)Register: inauspicious
Classical Chinese Text
九五 屯其膏。小貞吉。大貞凶。
屯zhūnpulling together
其qíone's
膏gāoriches
小xiǎomodest
貞zhēnpersistence
吉jípromising
大dàmuch
貞zhēnpersistence
凶xiōngunfortunate
Line Commentary
Your good intentions can't take visible form yet—others distort everything you do. Small steps succeed; grand gestures backfire. Work quietly until trust accumulates. Force nothing.
When This Line Changes
If Line 5 changes, Hexagram 3 Zhun (Difficulty at the Beginning) transforms into Hexagram 24 Fu (Return).
Parent Hexagram
Difficulty at the Beginning
Zhun屯 (3)
Water (坎) over Thunder (震)
Upper Trigram: ☵ Water | Lower Trigram: ☳ Thunder