I Ching · King Wen 9
Hexagram 9: Small Taming
䷈ 小畜 Xiǎo Chù · also called The Taming Power of the Small, Small Accumulating, Small Restraint · The Gentle above The Creative
Small restraint on large power: dense clouds, no rain yet, and only gentle influence available.
restraintgentle influencepatiencedetailpreparation
The meaning of Hexagram 9
Heaven below, wind above: a great force held back by something gentle. Small Taming describes a time when you cannot act decisively because your means are small relative to the situation, and the correct response is gentle, persistent influence rather than force. The tradition's image is of clouds gathering from the west without releasing rain: promise without result, for now. The judgement is favourable in a modest way. Success comes through friendliness, patience and attention to detail while the larger opportunity is still forming.
The image. Wind drives across heaven; the wise person refines the outward expression of their nature.
- Advice
- Use gentle, persistent influence and attend to the small things while the large one ripens.
- Warning
- Trying to force a result with means too small for it wastes the power you have.
over
Structure: ☰ The Creative (Heaven) below, ☴ The Gentle (Wind) above. Nuclear hexagram 38, Opposition. Every line reversed: 16, Enthusiasm.
Hexagram 9 for love and relationships
You cannot force the situation; you can only influence it gently. Small kindnesses and steady attention do more than declarations now. The rain has not fallen, and it is not yet time to demand it.
Hexagram 9 for career
Your position gives you limited power over a large matter. Work through persuasion, preparation and the details you can control. Wait for the accumulated small efforts to release the result.
Hexagram 9 for money
Small, careful accumulation rather than large moves. Restrain spending, refine the plan, and do not expect the big return yet; the clouds are gathering but the rain is not here.
Hexagram 9 for decisions
A decision that cannot be forced through. Choose the option that advances by small, gentle steps and keeps you flexible, and hold the large commitment until the conditions change.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
The rain comes, the rest comes. The moon is nearly full. Persistent pushing brings misfortune.
The restraint has succeeded and the result has arrived. The line's warning is about the moment after success: to keep pushing now, as the moon nears full, is to overreach. Accept the result and stop.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 5, Waiting. Read line 6 →
Sincere and bound in loyalty. Rich in one's neighbour.
Mutual trust between the one with power and the one restraining it, and shared wealth as a result. The line describes influence that has become partnership: what one has, the other shares.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 26, Great Taming. Read line 5 →
Sincerity: blood vanishes and fear departs. No blame.
The one doing the restraining, in a position of real danger, and getting through it by complete truthfulness. When you must hold back someone stronger, sincerity is the only tool that works, and here it does.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 1, The Creative. Read line 4 →
The wagon loses its spokes; husband and wife roll their eyes at each other.
Trying to break through the restraint by force, and getting stuck; the effort damages a close relationship in the process. The line describes what happens when the small means are ignored. Stop pushing.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 61, Inner Truth. Read line 3 →
Drawn back into the way. Good fortune.
Others around you are also turning back, and their example makes it easier. Seeing that pressing ahead is wrong for everyone, not only for you, allows a return without loss of face.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 37, The Family. Read line 2 →
Return to the way. No blame. Good fortune.
An impulse to push forward meets an obstacle, and the wise response is to turn back to your own proper course without resentment. Nothing is lost; the way was never through the obstacle.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 57, The Gentle. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 9 mean?
- Small restraint on large power: dense clouds, no rain yet, and only gentle influence available. Heaven below, wind above: a great force held back by something gentle. Small Taming describes a time when you cannot act decisively because your means are small relative to the situation, and the correct response is gentle, persistent influence rather than force. The tradition's image is of clouds gathering from the west without releasing rain: promise without result, for now. The judgement is favourable in a modest way. Success comes through friendliness, patience and attention to detail while the larger opportunity is still forming.
- What does Hexagram 9 mean for love?
- You cannot force the situation; you can only influence it gently. Small kindnesses and steady attention do more than declarations now. The rain has not fallen, and it is not yet time to demand it.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 9 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 57, The Gentle; line 2 gives Hexagram 37, The Family; line 3 gives Hexagram 61, Inner Truth; line 4 gives Hexagram 1, The Creative; line 5 gives Hexagram 26, Great Taming; line 6 gives Hexagram 5, Waiting. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 16, Enthusiasm.