In love
A disagreement is at the center: say your part without feeding the quarrel, and call on a trusted third party if needed.
Hexagram 6
I Ching hexagram 6: Conflict (Song)
Song, Conflict, is the hexagram of disagreement: you may be right, but insisting to the end wears everyone out.
- disagreement
- measure
- arbitration
The essentials
Song at a glance
For you, Song describes a dispute: look for a fair arbiter, know when to stop, and do not win at all costs.
A strength
The ability to defend your position honestly, and to stop when the matter is no longer worth it.
Something to watch
Pushing the dispute to the end: even a won struggle leaves little to the one who waged it.
- What it advises
- Look for an arbiter, clarify the starting point, stop in time rather than winning at all costs.
- Its opposite
- 36. Darkening of the Light (Ming yi)
The situation
Song speaks of conflict. The ancient text admits that you may be sincere in it, and says that this does not prevent the obstacle. It advises caution: stopping halfway is favorable, pursuing it to the end brings setbacks.
The hexagram invites you to see a wise person, that is, an arbiter or a council clearer than yourself, and advises against embarking on a great crossing as long as the dispute is not settled.
Song suggests choosing your battles, and weighing what that victory would cost. Most conflicts are untied faster through measure than through insistence.
The image: Heaven above Water
- AboveHeaven: the force that creates
- BelowWater: the risky passage
Heaven above Water, two opposing movements: one rises, the other descends. According to the commentaries, this image advises weighing the beginning of an affair carefully before committing to it.
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) · brokenDo not prolong the matter: a few words are said against you, but the end is favorable, because you let go.
- 2nd line · solidUnable to prevail, you withdraw and keep a low profile, in a small village: this way you avoid fault.
- 3rd line · brokenLiving on your old inheritance, staying firm: danger exists but the outcome is good. In the king’s service, you claim no glory.
- 4th line · solidNot up to the dispute, you return to what is right, change your mind, and calm down: the outcome is judged fortunate.
- 5th line · solidPleading with justice: the case is heard, and a very favorable omen according to the ancient text.
- 6th line (top) · solidA leather belt received as a reward, taken away three times before the morning is over: victory won by struggle does not last.
Song in your life
At work
A dispute calls for laying out the facts, going through mediation, and preferring agreement to victory.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 訟 (sòng)
- Number
- 6 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Heaven (乾) above, Water (坎) below
- Inner hexagram
- 37. The Family (Jia ren) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 5. Waiting (Xu)
- Symbol
- ䷅ (U+4DC5)
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 6
What does hexagram 6 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 6, Song, means conflict: a disagreement where each side believes itself right, which invites measure, arbitration, and knowing when to stop.
Does hexagram 6 announce a quarrel?
No, it describes a situation of disagreement and suggests a way of handling it. The I Ching describes a stance to hold, not an event to expect.