Small Taming
小畜Xiao Xu
No. 9 · Wind over Heaven
Xiao Xu (Small Taming)
About modest savings and a temporary hold: the clouds are thick but no rain falls yet. Your strength is not big enough, so build up reserves and work on yourself first.
Cast your own hexagramXiao Xu (Small Taming) is thick cloud with no rain yet: the direction is right, but the timing and strength fall a little short. Build up gradually and work on yourself rather than rushing for a big result.
Favorable
- Build up in small steps
- Work on yourself
- Hold your ground gently
- Wait for conditions to ripen
Avoid
- Rushing for big results
- Making large commitments
- Falling out over small things
- Pushing someone to commit
Work and money
- Job search
- There is an opening, but it is not quite there, like the Judgment's thick cloud before rain. Build your skills and portfolio where you are now. Moving once the timing is right is steadier than forcing a switch today.
- Business
- Xiao Xu (Small Taming) means modest savings: good for testing the waters on a small scale, not for big expansion. Protect cash flow first, and wait until orders and reputation have built up before you double down.
- Money
- Good for small, regular saving and slow accumulation; not for large commitments. Money tends to come in gradually, not all at once.
Love and people
- Single
- There are signs someone is coming into view, but it is still forming, and they may be watching to see how things go. Stay gentle, create more chances to spend time together, and do not rush for an answer.
- In a relationship
- The third line pictures spokes falling from a wheel and a couple turning away from each other. When small irritations start piling up into arguments, step back and talk before the mood locks up completely.
- Getting back together
- The first two lines, returning to one's path and being drawn back, both point to good fortune, so a return is possible. It is unlikely to settle in one talk, though. Get back in touch slowly and let things warm up on their own.
- People and partnerships
- Working relationships are making small progress, but not enough yet to discuss anything big. Build trust on small projects first, and talk about partnership once there is more weight behind it.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Your results are building, but they have not paid off yet. Keep working on weak subjects at your own pace. If you fall just short this time, do not write yourself off; one more round of building up and the rain can come.
- Moving and travel
- Going out is fine, but the conditions for a big move are not in place. Short, small trips tend to go more smoothly. If you plan to relocate, save the budget and pick the place before you go.
- Body and mind
- Lots you want to do, and something keeps holding you back, which can leave you restless and edgy. The Image speaks of refining yourself: read, write by hand, do something quiet. If you feel physically unwell, have a doctor take a look.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Likely to come, but slowly. The Judgment has thick clouds and no rain: the clouds have gathered, and the last condition is still missing. When enough has built up, the rain tends to fall. It may come from the west, or from a direction you have not been watching.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- Your side is not strong enough yet to overpower the other, so a head-on fight is risky. Xiao Xu (Small Taming) is the soft restraining the strong: gather evidence, build leverage, keep things calm and avoid an open break.
- Lost things and people
- Likely to be found with patience. Xun (Wind) is wind and wood, so look somewhere airy, in wooden furniture or a cabinet, or where it may be covered or wedged under other things. Search slowly and thoroughly.
Making a decision
You can prepare, but this is not the time to go all in. Save your strength and wait for the rain.
If you are…
Xiao Xu (Small Taming) is thick cloud with no rain. The business is heading the right way, but it lacks the strength to carry two shops. Steady the revenue and staff at the one you have, put aside a reserve, and open the second when the rain actually comes.
The third line is like spokes slipping out of a wheel: small friction jams the whole cart. Pick a moment when you are both calm, agree on who does what, and fix the wheel before you set off again.
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.
亨。密雲不雨，自我西郊。
Success. Dense clouds, but no rain, rising from our western outskirts.
Wind over Heaven. Xun (Wind) sits above, Qian (Heaven) below: wind blowing across the sky can briefly restrain heaven's strength, but not for long, hence Xiao Xu (Small Taming). The single yin line in the fourth place gently holds back five yang lines.
Nine at the beginning
復自道，何其咎，吉。
Returning to one's own path. How could there be any fault? Good fortune.
When you are blocked, go back to your core work and your original plan. Not forcing your way forward is not a mistake; it is the right call.
Small Image: 復自道，其義吉也。
Nine in the second place
牽復，吉。
Drawn back together with others. Good fortune.
Pulling back and regrouping with like-minded people is nothing to be ashamed of. With partners pulling each other along, you are less likely to stray.
Small Image: 牽復在中，亦不自失也。
Nine in the third place
輿說輻，夫妻反目。
The spokes come loose from the cart's wheel. Husband and wife turn their eyes from each other.
Pushing ahead while the people closest to you hold you back is how a blowup happens. Stop and repair the relationship, and sort out things at home or inside the team before talking about moving on.
Small Image: 夫妻反目，不能正室也。
Six in the fourth place
有孚，血去惕出，无咎。
With sincerity, bloodshed goes away and fear departs. No blame.
You stand in the middle, holding back a group of forceful people. What works is good faith, not force. Talk honestly and win support from above, and the danger tends to pass.
Small Image: 有孚惕出，上合志也。
Nine in the fifth place
有孚攣如，富以其鄰。
With sincerity, bound closely together, sharing one's wealth with one's neighbors.
When you have resources, share them with your partners and build together. Trust that ties people together carries you further than profiting alone.
Small Image: 有孚攣如，不獨富也。
Nine at the top
既雨既處，尚德載，婦貞厲，月幾望，君子征凶。
The rain has come and the rain has stopped; the virtue that is honored has built up to the full. For a woman, even steadfastness is dangerous. The moon is nearly full; if the noble person sets out now, misfortune.
It finally worked, and you have built up enough. The risk now is pushing for more. Quit while you are ahead: do not keep expanding, and do not cling to it either.
Small Image: 既雨既處，德積載也。君子征凶，有所疑也。
小畜，柔得位而上下應之，曰小畜。健而巽，剛中而志行，乃亨。密雲不雨，尚往也。自我西郊，施未行也。
Xiao Xu (Small Taming): the yielding line has found its proper place, and the lines above and below answer it; this is why it is called Xiao Xu. Strong within and gentle without, the firm line holds the center and its purpose can be carried out, so there is success. Dense clouds and no rain: the yang energy is still rising. Clouds from the western outskirts: the blessing has not yet been given out.
The Image風行天上，小畜，君子以懿文德。
Wind moves across the heavens: this is Xiao Xu (Small Taming). So the noble person refines their cultivation and character.
The Sequence: why it comes here比必有所畜也，故受之以小畜。
Once people have drawn close, something is bound to accumulate, so Bi (Holding Together) is followed by Xiao Xu (Small Taming). The name means storing up, and also holding back or restraining.
Miscellaneous Notes小畜寡也，履不處也。
Xiao Xu (Small Taming) and Lü (Treading) are paired: Xiao Xu is "few", one yin line trying to hold back five yang lines with little strength; Lü is "not staying put", always moving forward and never resting in one place.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Xiao Xu mean for love?
There are signs someone is coming into view, but it is still forming, and they may be watching to see how things go. Stay gentle, create more chances to spend time together, and do not rush for an answer. The third line pictures spokes falling from a wheel and a couple turning away from each other. When small irritations start piling up into arguments, step back and talk before the mood locks up completely.
What does Xiao Xu mean for work?
There is an opening, but it is not quite there, like the Judgment's thick cloud before rain. Build your skills and portfolio where you are now. Moving once the timing is right is steadier than forcing a switch today. Plans may stall right before the finish line. Do the small things you can, fill in your skills, and once conditions come together it tends to move forward naturally.
With Xiao Xu, will what I am waiting for come?
Likely to come, but slowly. The Judgment has thick clouds and no rain: the clouds have gathered, and the last condition is still missing. When enough has built up, the rain tends to fall. It may come from the west, or from a direction you have not been watching.
With Xiao Xu, will I find what I lost?
Likely to be found with patience. Xun (Wind) is wind and wood, so look somewhere airy, in wooden furniture or a cabinet, or where it may be covered or wedged under other things. Search slowly and thoroughly.
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.