Upper trigram
☷
Earth (Kun) above
Receptive yielding.
FamilyMother
ElementEarth
Hexagram 7 of 64
I Ching hexagram 7 ☷☵ The Army
I Ching hexagram 7, The Army, is earth above, water below. In brief: organized effort under clear leadership. Its one solid line stands in place 2, counting from the bottom; the other five are broken.
- Lines, bottom up
- ⚋⚊⚋⚋⚋⚋ 010000 · 1 = solid
- Trigrams
- Earth over Water Kun ☷ / Kan ☵
- Every line changed
- № 13 Fellowship
- In Legge, 1882
- p. 71 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
Legge, The Yî King, 1882.
Lower trigram
☵
Water (Kan) below
Danger and depth.
FamilyMiddle son
ElementWater
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What the text says, in plain terms
The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 7
The Judgement
Organized strength under experienced leadership. Collective effort succeeds when it is disciplined and led by someone trusted, for a purpose that is justified.
The Image
Water held within the earth: a reserve that can be drawn on. The lesson is to look after people generously, so that support is there when it is needed.
A summary of meaning written for this site, not a translation — James Legge’s 1882 translation of the full text follows below. How the Judgement and the Image are read, and which translations to use →
Primary source
Hexagram 7 in James Legge’s translation
“Sze indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.”
“(The trigram representing) the earth and in the midst of it that representing water, form Sze. The superior man, in accordance with this, nourishes and educates the people, and collects (from among them) the multitudes (of the hosts).”
The lines
- Line 1 · bottom The first line, divided, shows the host going forth according to the rules (for such a movement). If these be not good, there will be evil.
- Line 2 The second line, undivided, shows (the leader) in the midst of the host. There will be good fortune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of his favour).
- Line 3 The third line, divided, shows how the host may, possibly, have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil.
- Line 4 The fourth line, divided, shows the host in retreat. There is no error.
- Line 5 The fifth line, divided, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize (and destroy). In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men (idly occupy offices assigned to them), however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil.
- Line 6 · top The topmost line, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges, (appointing some) to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the headship of clans; but small men should not be employed (in such positions).
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 71 — read the original text.
Words in parentheses are Legge’s own: in his preface he explains that they supply what the original writer left unsaid. “Undivided” and “divided” are his terms for yang and yin lines, counted from the bottom. The Image comes from the second appendix of the book, the Treatise on the Symbolism.
The Army for a decision
Something needs coordinated effort rather than individual action. Put a clear structure and a capable leader in place, and make sure the aim is one people can believe in.
I Ching 7 in love and relationships
Roles and responsibilities need to be clear. Shared goals hold a relationship together better than loose good intentions.
Hexagram 7 at work
Projects that depend on a team following one plan. Discipline, fairness and a leader with real authority matter more than individual brilliance.
The six lines of hexagram 7
Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yin yang yin yin yin yin — what each position means.
One line is yang and five are yin. Two of the six stand in their proper place, and the pair 2–5 answers.
What the two trigrams do to each other
Inner and outer
Water below — danger and depth — is the private, inner side of hexagram 7.
Earth above — receptive yielding — is the world that side meets.
The five-element relation
Earth above controls Water below. Circumstance restrains the inner position — pressure comes from the situation, not from within.
Read as a family
The mother sits above and the middle son below. A parent over a child, which the tradition reads as guidance, authority or constraint depending on the rest of the figure.
Calculated from the lines
Hexagrams connected to hexagram 7
Nuclear hexagram
24 · Return
What is happening beneath the surface.
Lines 2–4 give Zhen (Thunder) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Kun (Earth) as the upper.
Opposite hexagram
13 · Fellowship
The situation turned inside out.
Change all six lines and Earth over Water becomes Heaven over Fire.
Inverse hexagram
8 · Holding Together
The situation seen from the other side.
Turn the figure upside down and Earth over Water becomes Water over Earth.
None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.
The image
Earth above, Water below.
Earth over Water: receptive yielding meeting danger and depth.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “I Ching Hexagram 7: The Army.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/7/
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