Hexagram 10 of 64
Treading 天泽履
☰☱ Heaven over Lake
Treading carefully within proper order.
Hexagram 10 is about moving carefully inside an order you do not control. The image is treading on a tiger's tail without being bitten: not through daring, but through respect for form. It favours precise courtesy, well-placed steps, and awareness of who holds power in the situation.
Judgment
履虎尾，不咥人，亨。
Treading on a tiger's tail, yet it does not bite. Success.
Image
上天下泽，履；君子以辨上下，定民志。
Heaven above, the lake below: treading. The noble person distinguishes high from low and steadies people's hearts.
The six lines
Read from the bottom line (the beginning) to the top line (the outcome). Each line gives the classical text, our English translation, and a plain-language reading.
初九：素履往，无咎。
Treading the plain path. Going forward brings no blame.
Start without display or pretence. Plain and honest is enough to keep you out of trouble.
九二：履道坦坦，幽人贞吉。
The path of treading is level and wide. A quiet person who perseveres finds good fortune.
There is a clear path for someone who does not need the spotlight. Keep steady and follow it.
六三：眇能视，跛能履，履虎尾，咥人，凶。武人为于大君。
One-eyed yet able to see, lame yet able to walk; treading on the tiger's tail, it bites: misfortune. A warrior acting as great ruler.
The danger here is overrating your position. Whoever oversteps their role takes the blow.
九四：履虎尾，愬愬，终吉。
Treading on the tiger's tail with watchful fear. In the end, good fortune.
Stated, visible caution is what carries you through. Say the risk out loud.
九五：夬履，贞厉。
Treading decisively. Steady perseverance brings danger.
You may decide firmly, but without arrogance: high position does not remove the risk.
上九：视履考祥，其旋元吉。
Review the path trodden and examine the signs; if the turn is complete, supreme good fortune.
Before closing, look at the whole course and correct what was left crooked.
In practice
Love and relationships
Limits and forms matter. A clear agreement about the pace of the relationship is worth more than grand declarations.
Work and decisions
Adjust how you deal with whoever holds authority over the process. Send information through the right channel even when it costs an extra step.
Money
No shortcuts and no skipped requirements. Read contracts and conditions before signing.
How to use this reading
Use it when the outcome depends on how you move inside a hierarchy or a procedure. The useful question is: which step is mine, in what order, and whose call is it?
New to the method? Start with the six-line basics.
For cultural reflection only. This is not a prediction guarantee or professional advice.