The Wanderer
Fire (離 Lí) above, Mountain (艮 Gèn) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 56, 旅 (Lǚ), represents The Wanderer.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 56 (旅 Lǚ). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/lu1). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
旅：小亨，旅貞吉。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Small success. For the traveler, steadfastness brings good fortune.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
山上有火,旅。君子以明慎用刑,而不留狱。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) a mountain and above it that for fire form Lu. The superior man, in accordance with this, exerts his wisdom and caution in the use of punishments and not allowing litigations to continue.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初六：旅瑣瑣，斯其所取災。
James Legge: The first SIX, divided, shows the stranger mean and meanly occupied. It is thus that he brings on himself (further) calamity.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：旅即次，懷其資，得童僕貞。
James Legge: The second SIX, divided, shows the stranger, occupying his lodging-house, carrying with him his means of livelihood, and provided with good and trusty servants.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：旅焚其次，喪其童僕，貞厲。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, shows the stranger, burning his lodging-house, and having lost his servants. However firm and correct he (try to) be, he will be in peril.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
九四：旅于處，得其資斧，我心不快。
James Legge: The fourth NINE, undivided, shows the traveller in a resting-place, having (also) the means of livelihood and the axe, (but still saying), 'I am not at ease in my mind.'
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
六五：射雉一矢亡，終以譽命。
James Legge: The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject shooting a pheasant. He will lose his arrow, but in the end he will obtain praise and a (high) charge.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：鳥焚其巢，旅人先笑後號咷。喪牛于易，凶。
James Legge: The sixth NINE, undivided, suggests the idea of a bird burning its nest. The stranger, (thus represented), first laughs and then cries out. He has lost his ox(-like docility) too readily and easily. There will be evil.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
The Wanderer can prompt questions about how a person acts when they lack the security of a settled position: what is essential to carry, which customs belong to the place one is entering, and when caution is wiser than display.
These are modern reflection prompts, not instructions for immigration, travel safety, employment, relationships, or finance. They do not diagnose a reader, predict an event, or promise that humility or adaptability will produce a particular result.
Continue with the Hexagram 56 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.