I Ching hexagram 25

I Ching hexagram 25: Innocence

无妄 wú wàng · heaven above thunder

Thunder rolls under heaven and everything acts by its nature: be simple and unscheming, and take what comes calmly.

The judgment: Great success. It pays to stay true. If you are not upright, misfortune follows, and it does not pay to go anywhere.
"Wû Wang indicates great progress and success, while there will be advantage in being firm and correct. If (its subject and his action) be not correct, he will fall into errors, and it will not be advantageous for him to move in any direction."
James Legge's translation, 1882
What it says to you: Thunder rolls beneath the open sky, and every living thing moves the way its nature tells it to, without plotting. That is innocence here: freedom from scheming, doing the right thing without an angle. The judgment promises great success to the person who is truly upright, and is blunt about the alternative: if you are off true, trouble follows and no direction will help. The lines add a wry twist. Innocence does not guarantee good luck. Someone's tethered ox gets taken by a passing traveler, and the villagers get the blame. An ailment arrives for no reason, and the text says it will clear without remedies. So ask yourself honestly whether your motives are clean. If they are, act plainly and accept what comes. If you find a calculation hiding in there, stop before you move.

Matter by matter

Love: Be sincere and unscheming. Games and tactics backfire; a simple, honest heart is what works.
Work: Do honest work without angles. Avoid maneuvering; setbacks you didn't cause may still come.
Money: No windfall-hunting. Gains not honestly earned bring trouble; meet losses that aren't your fault calmly.
A yes or no question: Yes, with a condition. Only if your motives are clean; otherwise the text says do not move.

The six lines of Innocence

A hexagram is built from the bottom up, so the first line is the lowest. You read a line's text only when your cast made it a moving line.

Bottom line, solid

Without guile. Going forward brings good fortune.

Your first impulse is honest and simple. Trust it and act. At the start of something, an unscheming heart is the best guide you have, and the text says going forward goes well.
Second line, broken

Reaping without plowing for the harvest, working the field without counting on its third year. Then it pays to go somewhere.

Do each task for its own sake, without fixing on the payoff. Plow because plowing is the job at hand. Work like that, free of calculation, can go anywhere and succeed.
Third line, broken

Undeserved disaster. Someone tethers an ox; a traveler takes it, and the villagers suffer the blame.

Bad luck lands on you through no fault of your own; you are the villager blamed for the stolen ox. It is unfair. Keep calm and keep your conduct clean; innocence is still the best ground to stand on.
Fourth line, solid

You can stay steady. No harm.

Hold your position and do not chase anything new. What is truly yours cannot be taken from you. Steadiness is what this moment asks for, and it keeps you clear of mistakes.
Fifth line, solid

An illness you did nothing to deserve. Do not take medicine, and there will be joy.

A trouble arrived without any cause in you, and it will clear without drastic fixes. Read this about setbacks and worries, not as medical advice; for real illness, see a doctor. Here, don't overreact.
Top line, solid

Without guile, yet acting brings misfortune. Nothing benefits.

Your intentions are fine, but the moment has passed. Acting now, however innocently, goes wrong. Be still and let things settle; this is a time to stop rather than to start.

About hexagram 25

What does I Ching hexagram 25 mean?

Hexagram 25, Innocence, puts heaven above thunder. Thunder rolls under heaven and everything acts by its nature: be simple and unscheming, and take what comes calmly. Its judgment reads: Great success. It pays to stay true. If you are not upright, misfortune follows, and it does not pay to go anywhere.

Is hexagram 25 a yes or a no?

Yes, with a condition. Only if your motives are clean; otherwise the text says do not move.

What does hexagram 25 mean for love?

Be sincere and unscheming. Games and tactics backfire; a simple, honest heart is what works.

What does hexagram 25 mean for work?

Do honest work without angles. Avoid maneuvering; setbacks you didn't cause may still come.

Cast the coins for a new question , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks

The I Ching reads a moment. For the years of your own life, cast your birth chart; on your chart page you can ask three questions of your own, answered against it, for $2.99.

The judgment and lines are rendered from the Chinese text; the quoted judgment is Legge's 1882 translation, and every other English line is Jade Almanac's own. A cast is a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.