I Ching · Hexagram 56 of 64
Hexagram 56: Lu （旅） — The Wanderer
Fire above, Mountain below: fire on the mountain, and when fire breaks out the birds and beasts scatter from their homes. It is homelessness, drifting, the exile. Human life too is a journey, and everyone in it is a passing guest. The hexagram shows how to carry oneself on the road: light baggage, low profile, holding to what is right and clinging to the light, and how to avoid inviting disaster.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 56 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Lu 旅 · The Wanderer |
| Upper trigram | Li （离）· Fire |
| Lower trigram | Gen （艮）· Mountain |
| Structure | Fire over Mountain |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
The Wanderer. Small success. Perseverance of the wanderer brings good fortune.
ExplainedThe wanderer is not a traveler on pleasure but one without a home, sleeping in the open; when abundance has exhausted itself, one loses the place one dwelt in. The hexagram says small success: unlike abundance, where more is better, on the road the lighter the baggage and the fewer the followers the easier the going, so one stays low, soft and careful and small is what succeeds. And the wanderer's perseverance brings good fortune: on the journey of life one must hold to what is right, doing no evil and every good, and so be shielded and sustained. Fortune and misfortune on the road cannot be foreseen, and only uprightness keeps one from harm; the sage's whole counsel is a single word - hold to the right, and blessing follows.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
The Wanderer, small success: the yielding obtains the middle in the outer, and is obedient to the firm. It rests and clings to the light; therefore small success, and the wanderer's perseverance brings good fortune. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of wandering!
ExplainedThe yielding obtains the middle in the outer: the soft fifth line stands in the middle of the outer trigram, meaning that toward the world one is neither haughty nor weak but keeps the measure that considers both sides. Obedient to the firm means that within and without one dwells in strength. It rests and clings to the light: the mountain is steadiness, the fire is light, and to cling to light is to keep close to what is good and to the people and company that make greed, anger and folly lessen day by day - so there is small success. As for the wanderer's perseverance, to hold the right and cling to the light settles the heart and makes it upright, and one becomes a noble person. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of wandering.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Fire on the mountain: The Wanderer. The gentleman is clear and careful in punishments and does not prolong lawsuits.
ExplainedFire on the mountain drives the birds and beasts from their homes: this is the exile, not the settled life, and for a people who prize their native soil migration is no small matter. The gentleman takes from it that one should be clear and careful in the use of punishment and not let the case drag on: coming into the world is itself like coming under sentence, and what is due should be faced clearly and settled quickly, not lingered over, so that karma dissolves without complaint.
The Six Lines （六爻）
The lines are read from the bottom upward. Each carries its own text, a Small Image commentary, and a plain-English reading.
Line 1 · YinLine 1
The wanderer is petty and small. This is what he brings down on himself.
Small ImageThe wanderer is petty and small: his will is exhausted, and so disaster.
ExplainedOn the road the worst thing is to be petty, cringing and downcast. The commander of a host may be taken, but a commoner's will may not be taken from him: one may lose wealth and even life, but never the will. Let the will be fixed on something that cannot be exhausted - to become a sage - and it can never run dry; fix it on riches or fame and the will dies when the fortune does. Once the will is dead one is cringing and dejected, and even the dogs bully him.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
The wanderer comes to an inn. He carries his goods with him. He finds a faithful servant.
Small ImageHe finds a faithful servant: in the end, no complaint.
ExplainedHeaven always gives the traveler a place to stay - the inn, and even a cell has its roof and ration - goods for the journey, and someone faithful to serve him. The whole matter is to cherish that bond and never use the one who loves and serves you as a target for temper. Whoever wins a faithful servant does not live in complaint; but most people offend those who are best to them, and end in mutual torment and resentment.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
The wanderer burns his inn. He loses his faithful servant. Perseverance is perilous.
Small ImageThe wanderer burns his inn: he is also wounded. Treating those below as a wanderer does: the right is lost.
ExplainedTo burn the house, spend the money, and above all lose the faithful servant is to live in grief and become a resentful spirit. The inn is not burned with fire: one's own house is the person who is best to you, worn down as a target for temper until the strength is gone and the home lost. To be heartless toward those who serve you is to lose the right, and when the debt is paid and they wake and leave, it is too late for regret.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
The wanderer rests in a place. He obtains his axe and his goods. My heart is not glad.
Small ImageThe wanderer resting in a place: he has not attained his place. He obtains his axe and goods: his heart is not glad.
ExplainedAfter years on the road one finds a place, a good job and a good income, and yet the heart is not glad. He has not attained the place he truly wanted; he has money but must bow for it, and lives on in quiet dissatisfaction. This line speaks for most people: not what they love but what fate assigned, so the whole journey is lived in one unglad mood.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
He shoots the pheasant. One arrow is lost. In the end there is praise and command.
Small ImageIn the end there is praise and command: it reaches upward.
ExplainedThe pheasant's lovely feathers were used in the ancient sacrifice, and to shoot it is to seek the wealth of the spirit rather than of the body. The one arrow lost is the price paid in goods for the sake of truth; yet in the end praise and command come, and the name reaches even to Heaven. To be gathered and single as an arrow in flight is concentration, and concentration brings stillness, insight, and the power to heal.
Line 6 · YangLine 6
The bird burns its nest. The wanderer laughs first and then laments. He loses his ox at ease. Misfortune.
Small ImageThe wanderer at the top: the right is burned. Losing the ox at ease: in the end he is not heard of.
ExplainedThe bird burning its nest is the destruction of the home, often through the breaking of a marriage: laughter first, then wailing. To lose the ox at ease is to discard lightly the one who toiled like an ox for the household though the work was dull. Walking thus unjustly after success, one is struck from the roll and no longer heard of, and heavy illness or the crash of the car arrives. Only to lift oneself higher, to the things of the spirit, avoids this end.
Key takeaway
Human life is a journey and every person a passing guest: the wanderer must travel light and low, holding to the right and clinging to the light.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 56 (Lu) mean in the I Ching?
Fire above, Mountain below: fire on the mountain, and when fire breaks out the birds and beasts scatter from their homes. It is homelessness, drifting, the exile. Human life too is a journey, and everyone in it is a passing guest. The hexagram shows how to carry oneself on the road: light baggage, low profile, holding to what is right and clinging to the light, and how to avoid inviting disaster.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 56?
The Wanderer. Small success. Perseverance of the wanderer brings good fortune. The wanderer is not a traveler on pleasure but one without a home, sleeping in the open; when abundance has exhausted itself, one loses the place one dwelt in. The hexagram says small success: unlike abundance, where more is better, on the road the lighter the baggage and the fewer the followers the easier the going…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 56 say?
Line 1: The wanderer is petty and small. This is what he brings down on himself. Line 2: The wanderer comes to an inn. He carries his goods with him. He finds a faithful servant. Line 3: The wanderer burns his inn. He loses his faithful servant. Perseverance is perilous. Line 4: The wanderer rests in a place. He obtains his axe and his goods. My heart is not glad. Line 5: He shoots the pheasant. One arrow is lost. In the end there is praise and command. Line 6: The bird burns its nest. The wanderer laughs first and then laments. He loses his ox at ease. Misfortune.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 56 (The Wanderer)?
Human life is a journey and every person a passing guest: the wanderer must travel light and low, holding to the right and clinging to the light.
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