In love
In matters of the heart, Lü highlights a passing bond or a distance: be sincere, do not commit lightly, and respect the other person’s pace.
Hexagram 56
I Ching hexagram 56: The Wanderer (Lu)
Lü, the Wanderer, is the hexagram of the stranger passing through: modesty and uprightness earn a small success on land that is not his own.
- passage
- modesty
- caution
The essentials
Lu at a glance
For you, Lü describes a time of passage or uprooting: staying modest, careful, and correct protects you better than confidence does.
A strength
The flexibility of one who knows how to be a guest, adapt to places, and keep their integrity.
Something to watch
Being petty, arrogant, or reckless far from your supports.
- What it advises
- Stay modest and attentive in a setting that is not your own, and protect what you have rather than take risks.
- Its opposite
- 60. Limitation (Jie)
The situation
Lü is the wanderer, the stranger: one who, far from home, has neither hearth nor support. A small success is granted, provided they keep their firmness and rectitude. It is not about great undertakings, but about carrying yourself as you should.
The lines trace a journey: from the pettiness of mind that invites disappointment, to the inn, to goods and trusted servants, then to the lodging burned through carelessness. Toward the top, the wanderer gains praise and office, or else grows proud and loses everything.
Lü invites the modesty fitting in places of passage: adapt, stay courteous, protect what you have, and do not behave as though on conquered ground.
The image: Fire above the Mountain
- AboveFire: clarity that clings
- BelowMountain: the stillness that steadies
Fire upon the Mountain: the flame runs without settling. According to the commentary, the enlightened person uses clarity and caution in justice, and does not let cases drag on.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · brokenA petty traveler, busy with trifles: he draws fresh trouble on himself. Smallness of mind far from home has a price.
- 2nd line · brokenHe finds an inn, with the means to live and trusted servants: the image of a successful settling in while traveling.
- 3rd line · solidThe traveler burns his lodging and loses his servants: even upright, he is in danger. Rashness destroys his own supports.
- 4th line · solidHe stops in a place, with means and an ax, but says: “I am not at ease.” Real security, but a lingering unease.
- 5th line · brokenHe shoots at a pheasant and loses his arrow, then ends up receiving praise and high office. A minor sacrifice opens a good outcome.
- 6th line (top) · solidA bird that burns its nest: the traveler laughs at first, then cries out. Having lost his docility too soon leads to an unfavorable outcome.
Lu in your life
At work
For projects under way, Lü describes an assignment, a trip, or a temporary post: adapt, nurture local support, and avoid showy initiatives.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 旅 (lǚ)
- Number
- 56 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Fire (離) above, Mountain (艮) below
- Inner hexagram
- 28. Preponderance of the Great (Da guo) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 55. Abundance (Feng)
- Symbol
- ䷷ (U+4DF7)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 56
What does hexagram 56 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 56, Lü, means the wanderer: a period of passage or distance, to be lived with modesty, caution, and integrity.
How are hexagrams 55 and 56 related?
They read as mirror images: Feng, Abundance, high noon at home, and Lü, the Wanderer, the stranger without supports. One raises the question of prosperity, the other of modesty.