Hexagram 7 · 地水师

The Army

Earth · Kan palace

Organised collective effort under discipline.

Meaning

Water gathered within the earth: resources collected inside a structure. This hexagram concerns mobilising people toward a hard objective.

Decision Framework

Organise, discipline, appoint the right lead.

Decision Guidance

The Army is about collective effort that only works with structure. It appears when the task is larger than any individual and the outcome depends on how well people are arranged, supplied and led.

The organising principle is legitimacy and consistency: a clear reason for the effort, a capable person at the front, and rules that apply evenly. The hexagram warns against disorderly mobilisation, and against committing a group to something only its leader believes in. Establish the objective, resource it properly, and then let the discipline do the work.

Judgment — Classical Text

贞，丈人吉，无咎。

EN Perseverance. A seasoned leader brings good fortune — no blame.

The Six Lines — Classical Text

初六：师出以律，否臧凶。
EN Initial six: the army sets out under discipline; without it, misfortune even in victory.
九二：在师中吉，无咎，王三锡命。
EN Nine in the second: to be in the midst of the army brings good fortune — no blame; the king thrice bestows commission.
六三：师或舆尸，凶。
EN Six in the third: the army may return with corpses in the cart — misfortune.
六四：师左次，无咎。
EN Six in the fourth: the army camps to the left — no blame.
六五：田有禽，利执言，无咎。
EN Six in the fifth: game in the field; it is favourable to speak out — no blame.
上六：大君有命，开国承家，小人勿用。
EN Topmost six: the great ruler issues commands, founding states and establishing houses — do not employ petty people.

Keywords

I Ching hexagram 7, The Army hexagram, Shi hexagram meaning, hexagram for teamwork