Hexagram 10 · Lu 履
Move carefully when your actions carry weight
Lu places Heaven above Lake. Its only divided line is in the third position. The classical text describes treading on a tiger's tail, an image of acting close to a powerful or potentially dangerous force.
Short answer
Read Lu as a call to examine how you proceed: your conduct, your place in the situation, and the consequences of the next step. Confidence is most useful when it is matched by awareness and care.
- Upper
- Qian · Heaven
- Lower
- Dui · Lake
Pattern
Heaven above Lake
- Chinese
- 履
- Upper trigram
- Qian · Heaven
- Lower trigram
- Dui · Lake
- Lines
- One yin in the third position
Classical text
Careful conduct near a powerful force
履虎尾，不咥人，亨。— Zhouyi, Hexagram 10
The judgment pictures stepping on a tiger’s tail without being bitten and making progress. The Tuan commentary relates this to the yielding meeting the firm, with the lower trigram responding to Heaven. The opening image describes a way through a demanding situation; it does not guarantee safety. The third line explicitly depicts being bitten after overestimating one’s ability.
The Image says “上天下澤，履；君子以辨上下，定民志”. The Image sets heaven above the lake and speaks of distinguishing positions and settling people’s aims. Applied today, this can suggest clarity about roles, responsibilities, and limits. That application is an analogy, not a claim that every existing hierarchy is right. The fourth line values apprehensive care, and the final line asks for a review of one’s conduct and its outcome.
When it helps
Match the step to the situation
Before approaching a sensitive conversation or demanding responsibility, consider what you know, what authority you have, and how your action may affect others.
What to watch
Confidence can outrun ability
Good intentions and social confidence do not remove danger. Check your competence, notice signs of strain, and choose a smaller or safer step when the consequences are unclear.
Questions for reflection
- What makes this situation sensitive or demanding?
- Am I acting within my knowledge and responsibility?
- How will I review the effect of the step I take?
Read moving lines with the question and method of your own cast; this reference is not a complete reading. See how changing lines are displayed.
Sources
Check the original text
This page paraphrases the classical material; the examples about modern roles and decisions are interpretation.