Hexagram 5 of 64
Waiting
需 (Xū)
Needing (xū) — waiting for nourishing rain
Patient WaitingAs shown in classical I Ching texts
Composition
Upper Trigram
Deep, flowing, dangerous — penetrating through persistence
Outer situation / environment
Lower Trigram
Creative, initiating, strong — the power that begins things
Inner situation / your state
Interaction
Water above Heaven — rain & rivers meeting sky. The outer energy of water shapes the inner disposition of heaven.
Meaning
Nourishment through waiting. The rain is coming — do not force things but await the right moment.
Classical Judgment
“Waiting. If you are sincere, you have light and success. Perseverance brings good fortune.”
The classical judgment is the original oracle text — the answer the I Ching gives when this hexagram appears.
The Image
Clouds rise up to heaven. The superior one eats and drinks, is joyous and of good cheer.
The Image is a nature scene associated with this hexagram — a symbolic picture that distils its essence. In classic texts, meditating on the Image was considered the proper way to absorb the hexagram's teaching.
Nuclear Hexagram
Lines 2–5 of this hexagram form an inner hexagram called the nuclear hexagram. It reveals the hidden seed or underlying dynamic within the situation — what lies at the core beneath the surface.
#38 — Hidden within
Opposition
睽 (Kuí) · Difference
In a Reading
When hexagram 5 appears in your reading, the I Ching is drawing your attention to the quality of patient waiting. Sit with the Image — “Clouds rise up to heaven” — and consider how this pattern is playing out in your current situation. The Judgment offers the oracle’s direct guidance on how to move with this energy rather than against it.
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