Lu :: Sojourner

Small offerings :: Auspicious for traveling

旅

䷷

6 :: first

The sojourner's deficiency brings mishap.

You have not yet learned the "rules of the road." Anxiety adds hardship to the wanderer's plight of homelessness.

9 :: second

The sojourner stays put, conceals his wealth, and enlists helpers. Auspicious.

Your wandering temporarily ceases and there is some respite. A cautious budget replaces stinginess. Able helpers appear and an itinerary is set for a safe journey home.

6 :: third

The sojourner's lodgings burn. Helpers vanish. Danger.

Your carelessness and/or laziness bring loss and new risks. The traveler must take flight. Your companions betray you. You are harassed while making a retreat.

9 :: fourth

The sojourner finds another place to stay, stows his ax.¹ Unsettled.

Your flight brings you to a temporary lodging offered by allies. This new situation offers some security, but there is still tension, risk, and even danger.

9 :: fifth

A pheasant is bagged. An arrow is lost. Honor is established.

For the moment you forget your hardship. A temporary respite can be celebrated with modesty. The suffering hero is honored at a banquet given by allies, but the future still remains uncertain.

6 :: top

Crow's nest burned. Ox lost in the field.² First laughter, then tears. Misfortune.

Your reduced circumstances are painful. The life of a wanderer is full of loss and more loss. Courageously laughed off at first, but later, you weep.

Image

Lu means brush fire and represents a temporary lodger or wanderer. It describes a situation of being foot-loose, exiled, unattached and wandering along the uneven road of fate. The lines tell the story of a vassal or general who makes his way home through enemy territory after losing a battle. Lu says much about the strength of tribal identity (allies) and the courage and confidence it provides to make this difficult journey home.

Small offering rituals (and divination) are performed along the way to seek guidance.

Auspices

Favorable for small accomplishments and temporary appeasement, but inauspicious generally. Discretion is vital in whatever you do.

Good for short journeys, experimentation, learning, and being a guest.

Bad for acquiring wealth, lawsuits, security or marriage.

Comment

It is clear that the sojourner is considered generally unfortunate in the Zhouyi. Here the traveler is homeless due to war. He is a dutiful officer making his way back to his prince (home)-not an idle tourist. The situation is about hardship, but with a hint of spiritual quest.

The Confucian commentators dwell on the importance of a traveler/ guest following the manners and customs of foreign places, but I think this is really not the main point. Lu implies that human beings are at their best when they are at "home"-in a place of close and consistent association with their own kind (tribal ancestors). When human beings are forced by fate to wander alone, they lose their spiritual bearings, not just their manners and property.

Other Correspondences

Business: Small enterprises, discount sales, and temporary policy changes.

Disharmonies: Wounds, injuries, contagious diseases, wind disorders, and stress-related illness.

Prognosis: Poor. The patient is homeless and/or has difficulty following or continuing treatment. The patient may carry a dormant virus or cancer.