Hexagram 10
Treading
履
Upper
Heaven · 乾
the creative, strong
Lower
Lake · 兌
the joyous, open
Contemporary judgment
Treading: walking carefully in a place where missteps are costly. You are in a delicate position. Grace, tact, and a steady inner calm carry you through where force or protest would turn a manageable situation into disaster.
Image
Heaven above, the lake below. One walks on the tail of the tiger and is not bitten. The superior person distinguishes between high and low and so establishes the inclinations of the people.
Counsel
Mind your conduct in small matters. How you speak, how you listen, how you move through this: all of it is being weighed, often by people who will decide what happens next. Do not compromise your integrity to be liked, but do not needlessly antagonize either. Grace is power here.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A nine at the beginning means: Simple conduct. Progress without blame.
Line 2
A nine in the second place means: Treading a plain, level path. The perseverance of a dark person brings good fortune.
Line 3
A six in the third place means: A one-eyed person can see, a lame person can tread. They tread upon the tiger's tail. It bites them. Misfortune! A warrior acts thus for their great prince.
Line 4
A nine in the fourth place means: They tread upon the tiger's tail. Caution and circumspection lead in the end to good fortune.
Line 5
A nine in the fifth place means: Resolute conduct. Perseverance in awareness of danger.
Line 6
A nine at the top means: Look to your conduct and examine the favorable signs. If all is complete, sublime good fortune comes.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.