初
初六。不永所事、小有言、終吉。
Do not prolong the case; small words arise, but it ends well. Resolve quickly.
䷅
Hexagram 6
Conflict (天水訟)
Tensui-shō / Sòng
Heaven above, water below—contention arises. Resolve through fairness, not force.
Judgment
訟。有孚，窒惕，中吉。終凶。利見大人，不利渉大川。
Conflict. With sincerity, block and be alert; mid-course is good, ending can be bad. Meeting a great person helps; not good to cross the great river.
Address disputes early with evidence and integrity. Prolonged fighting harms both.
Line-by-Line (Yao)
Interpretations if the line changes.
二
九二。不克訟、歸而逋。其邑人三百戶、无眚。
Unable to win the suit—return home and withdraw. The town’s people (300 households) avoid harm.
三
六三。食舊德、貞厲、終吉。或從王事、无成。
Rely on old merits; upright but perilous, yet ends well. In royal service, no personal gain.
四
九四。不克訟、復即命渝、安貞吉。
Cannot prevail in the suit; return and change your mandate. Rest in correctness—good fortune.
五
九五。訟、元吉。
In litigation—great fortune. Justice on your side succeeds.
上
上九。或錫之鞶帶、終朝三褫之。
Given a rich belt, stripped three times in one morning. Honors fickle—do not cling.
Practical Reading: Love, Career, Health & Decisions
When you cast Hexagram 6, Sòng (Conflict), the Book of Changes shows you a situation with Qian (Heaven) above and Kan (Water) below. Heaven above, water below—contention arises. Resolve through fairness, not force. Use the cards below to map that pattern onto your specific question — a love reading, a career decision, a health concern, or a yes/no choice.
Love & Relationships
Avoid stubborn clashes; seek mediation and honest dialogue. In a love or relationship reading, Hexagram 6 (Sòng) describes the meeting point of Qian (heaven) above and Kan (water) below: how the outer situation meets your inner state. Ask whether you are forcing the relationship to fit a picture, or letting it move at the rhythm this hexagram suggests. For a partnered question, read the changing lines to see which side — yours or the other person's — is being asked to shift.
Work & Career
Use clear facts and fairness; legal or senior guidance benefits. In work and career, Sòng points to whether the outer market or workplace (Qian (heaven)) and your inner stance (Kan (water)) are in alignment. If a project, negotiation, or job change is the question, ask what this hexagram says about timing rather than effort: pushing harder rarely changes a Sòng situation; reading the configuration usually does.
Health & Wellbeing
Stress-related issues—calm down and treat causes rather than fighting symptoms. For a body or wellness reading, treat the lines of Hexagram 6 as descriptions of phases, not diagnoses. Sòng usually signals where energy needs to be conserved versus where it is asking to be expressed. Combine the hexagram's advice with concrete medical guidance — the I Ching is a reflective tool, not a substitute for professional care.
Decision-Making
When the question is a yes/no — should I take the offer, move, leave, commit? — read Hexagram 6 (Sòng, Conflict) as a statement about the configuration of your situation rather than the outcome. The summary "Heaven above, water below—contention arises. Resolve through fairness, not force." is your starting frame. Ask: does this action respect that configuration, or fight it? Changing lines, if any, tell you which specific aspect needs to bend.
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