Conflict
訟Song
No. 6 · Heaven over Water
Song (Conflict)
Song (Conflict) is about disputes and lawsuits. You may be in the right and still be blocked. Stopping halfway tends to serve you well; fighting it to the end tends to cost you.
Cast your own hexagramSong (Conflict): you're in a dispute and stuck. You may well be in the right, but the Judgment warns against fighting to the end. Bring in someone fair to judge, and stop halfway. That's where the Judgment puts the good fortune.
Favorable
- Put it in writing
- Ask someone fair to judge
- Know when to stop
- Think it through at the start
Avoid
- Fighting to the bitter end
- Risky long trips
- Feuding behind closed doors
- Spending money to prove a point
Work and money
- Job search
- Expect friction over terms and verbal promises that fall through. Get salary and exit terms in writing. If you're in a dispute with a former employer, the Judgment favors stopping halfway: settle once the terms are acceptable.
- Business
- Unfavorable for big contracts and big risks; partnership and contract disputes are likely. The Image says plan at the start. Nail down the terms up front, and take a smaller profit rather than planting a future fight.
- Money
- Be especially careful with money tied to contracts, loans, or partnerships, and put everything in writing. Not a time for risky bets or for spending to prove a point.
Love and people
- Single
- Small things can spark clashes lately, so a new relationship is less likely. Don't turn dates into a negotiation over who brings what. Soften your mood first.
- In a relationship
- Lots of fights and nobody backing down. Stop partway. The Judgment warns against pressing on to the end, and insisting on a winner can do real damage. If needed, ask someone you both trust to help mediate.
- Getting back together
- The odds are low. The old grievances aren't settled, and talking may set off another fight. Let go of who was right. If you still want to talk, bring in someone both of you trust.
- People and partnerships
- Partnerships and profit splits are prone to arguments. Write down money and responsibilities from the start. When you disagree, remember the Judgment's advice to see the great person: ask someone fair to weigh in instead of feuding privately.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Disputes with teachers, classmates, or the school over grades or rules may come up. Make your case once, then save your energy for studying. In exams, guard against careless slips and read questions closely.
- Moving and travel
- The Judgment says crossing the great river does not pay: unfavorable for long trips and risky plans. Watch for disputes over bookings, leases, or luggage. If you must go, keep every contract and receipt.
- Body and mind
- You're holding in anger, which can mean poor sleep and arguing with people in your head. Write it down, talk it out once with someone you trust, then let it go. Cut back on what riles you. If you feel unwell, check in with a doctor.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Expect it to stall and drag, and the outcome may fall short of what you hoped. If a compromise appears midway, take it. Don't hold out for an ending that gives you everything.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- Even if you're right, don't fight it all the way. Settle or mediate where you can, and have a lawyer or neutral party weigh in. The second line goes home and hides: stepping back keeps you and yours unharmed.
- Lost things and people
- Low odds of getting it back, or it may already be in someone else's hands and take negotiating. Look near water or low places, for Kan (Water), or ask building management or a public office, for Qian (Heaven). Report it if needed.
Making a decision
Not a time for big moves or big risks. Think through how things start, get a third-party view if needed, and quit while you're ahead.
If you are…
Song (Conflict) says don't fight to the end even when you're right. Keep the photos, the lease, and the messages, and try a mediation service or small claims process. Get most of it back and stop; months of fighting over pride isn't worth it.
This is exactly the end the Judgment warns about. Stop the private shouting matches, have an accountant or lawyer lay out the books, and let a neutral party judge. Then write any future terms from scratch.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
有孚，窒，惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。
You are sincere, yet blocked. Stay wary. Stopping halfway brings good fortune; pressing on to the end brings misfortune. It pays to see the great person. It does not pay to cross the great river.
Heaven over Water. Qian above is heaven, which rises; Kan below is water, which flows down. The two move in opposite directions, like people at odds, so the hexagram is Song (Conflict). Strength above and danger below, hard and risky at once, easily breeds a quarrel.
Six at the beginning
不永所事，小有言，終吉。
Not dragging out the matter. There is some small talk against you; in the end, good fortune.
A small friction has just come up. Say your piece clearly and let it go before it grows. A few sharp words are fine; dropping it matters more than winning.
Small Image: 不永所事，訟不可長也。雖小有言，其辯明也。
Nine in the second place
不克訟，歸而逋，其邑人三百戶无眚。
Unable to win the case, he goes home and hides. The three hundred households of his town suffer no harm.
The other side outranks you and holds more cards. Fighting head-on tends to mean losing and dragging the people around you down too. Stepping back to protect what you have is no disgrace.
Small Image: 不克訟，歸逋竄也。自下訟上，患至掇也。
Six in the third place
食舊德，貞厲，終吉。或從王事，无成。
Living on the old stipend. Steadfast, but in danger; in the end, good fortune. If you serve the king, claim no achievement as your own.
Keep what you have and don't fight for more. When you work under someone, let the credit go to them. That tends to keep you safer and lasting longer.
Small Image: 食舊德，從上吉也。
Nine in the fourth place
不克訟，復即命渝，安貞吉。
Unable to win the case, he turns back and accepts what is right, changes his mind, and settles into steadfastness. Good fortune.
If you realize your position doesn't hold up, change course and concede. Those who turn back lose nothing; digging in is what sinks you deeper.
Small Image: 復即命渝，安貞，不失也。
Nine in the fifth place
訟，元吉。
Judging the dispute: supreme good fortune.
You're the one brought in to settle it. Be fair and take no side. People tend to accept a fair call, and the matter can actually close.
Small Image: 訟，元吉，以中正也。
Nine at the top
或錫之鞶帶，終朝三褫之。
Perhaps he is awarded a leather belt of office for winning. By the end of the morning it is stripped from him three times.
What you win in a fight or a lawsuit often doesn't stay, and goodwill goes with it. Once you've won, stop. Don't show it off, and don't get a taste for it.
Small Image: 以訟受服，亦不足敬也。
訟，上剛下險，險而健，訟。訟，有孚，窒，惕，中吉，剛來而得中也。終凶，訟不可成也。利見大人，尚中正也。不利涉大川，入于淵也。
Song (Conflict): firm above, danger below. Danger joined with strength makes conflict. "You are sincere, yet blocked; stay wary; stopping halfway brings good fortune": a firm line has come into the lower trigram and holds the middle. "Pressing on to the end brings misfortune": conflict cannot be made to accomplish anything. "It pays to see the great person": what is valued is one who is central and correct. "It does not pay to cross the great river": forcing the risk means falling into the abyss.
The Image天與水違行，訟；君子以作事謀始。
Heaven and water go opposite ways: this is Song (Conflict). The noble person, seeing this, plans carefully at the very start of any undertaking.
The Sequence: why it comes here飲食必有訟，故受之以訟。
Food and drink are bound to cause disputes, so Song (Conflict) follows Xu (Waiting). People need to eat and need things, resources are limited, and where there is need, there will be conflict.
Miscellaneous Notes需不進也，訟不親也。
Xu (Waiting) does not advance; Song (Conflict) does not draw close. Xu can still sit and wait and share a meal. By Song, each side is telling its own story and they stand opposed, which is why the two are paired.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Song mean for love?
Small things can spark clashes lately, so a new relationship is less likely. Don't turn dates into a negotiation over who brings what. Soften your mood first. Lots of fights and nobody backing down. Stop partway. The Judgment warns against pressing on to the end, and insisting on a winner can do real damage. If needed, ask someone you both trust to help mediate.
What does Song mean for work?
Expect friction over terms and verbal promises that fall through. Get salary and exit terms in writing. If you're in a dispute with a former employer, the Judgment favors stopping halfway: settle once the terms are acceptable. In a dispute with a colleague or client, gather your records and agreements and ask someone neutral to mediate rather than fighting it out privately. Before signing anything new, get the terms spelled out.
With Song, will what I am waiting for come?
Expect it to stall and drag, and the outcome may fall short of what you hoped. If a compromise appears midway, take it. Don't hold out for an ending that gives you everything.
With Song, will I find what I lost?
Low odds of getting it back, or it may already be in someone else's hands and take negotiating. Look near water or low places, for Kan (Water), or ask building management or a public office, for Qian (Heaven). Report it if needed.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.