I Ching · Hexagram 5
Xū: Waiting
Clouds gather in the sky, but the rain has not come yet. Xu is purposeful waiting: staying nourished and calm while the right moment ripens.
- Keywords
- Patience, timing, preparation, trust
- Upper trigram
- Water (Kan)
- Lower trigram
- Heaven (Qian)
- Advice
- Prepare and take care of yourself; acting before the time is right wastes strength.
Changing lines
When you cast this hexagram, any changing line is turning into its opposite: yang into yin, or yin into yang. Changing them gives a second hexagram that suggests where things are heading. Hexagram meanings are a starting point for reflection, not predictions.