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Hexagram 56: The Wanderer
旅 · Lǚ
The Wanderer. Success through smallness. Perseverance brings good fortune to the wanderer.Judgment 卦辭
Fire on the mountain: the image of The Wanderer. The superior man is clear-minded and cautious in imposing penalties, and does not drag out lawsuits.Image 象辭
Core Meaning of Hexagram 56
Hexagram 56 is the traveler — fire burning on a mountainside: bright, moving, consuming quickly what it touches, never staying. The stranger’s position is inherently slight: ‘success through smallness.’ Away from your own ground — new city, new company, new field — you are a guest, and the guest’s safety is conduct: courtesy, restraint, engagement without entanglement.
Hexagram 56 in a Reading
In a reading, you are (or must accept being) the outsider. Scale down expectations and stakes; win small and local — a contact, a footing, a reputation for manners. Form light bonds and keep them warm; make no lifelong claims on the passing place. If you are hosting the wanderer instead, be the good host. Travel far now if called — but build nothing heavy until you’re home.
Common Questions
What does hexagram 56 mean?
Hexagram 56 is the traveler — fire burning on a mountainside: bright, moving, consuming quickly what it touches, never staying. Read the full meaning above, or cast your own reading with our free online I Ching coins.
What is the structure of hexagram 56?
Hexagram 56 is built from the trigram Fire above and Mountain below — binary 001101 read from the bottom line to the top. The Wanderer is King Wen number 56 of the 64 hexagrams.
Related Hexagrams
Other Hexagrams with Trigram Fire Above
Keywords: i ching hexagram 56, hexagram 56 meaning, the wanderer, lu, fire over mountain, travel, the stranger, being a guest, transient situation