Hexagram 25: Innocence
Outer trigram (upper)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Inner trigram (lower)
Chấn
Thunder · Wood
Judgment
无妄：元亨，利貞．其匪正有眚，不利有攸往.
Translation
Without Falsehood (free of reckless action and deceit): profoundly smooth progress, favorable to hold to what is right. Where one is not correct there will be trouble; unfavorable to go anywhere.
Commentary
Qian above is heaven, Zhen below is movement. Movement that follows heaven without recklessness or deceit — this is the virtue of Without Falsehood. Yang line 5, centered and correct, corresponds with yin line 2. Without Falsehood means genuine and true, free of wishful delusion, following the natural course of things.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：无妄，往吉.
Translation
Line 1, yang: without falsehood — moving forward brings fortune.
Commentary
Correctly placed and yang, line 1 is genuine and free of deceit; pressing forward brings fortune.
Line 2 (yin)
六二：不耕穫，不蓄畜，則利有攸往.
Translation
Line 2, yin: reaping without having plowed, profiting without having raised the herd — favorable to go somewhere.
Commentary
Centered and correct, line 2 does not chase profit ahead of time but simply acts according to the natural course of things, and the results follow on their own. This is the true virtue of Without Falsehood.
Line 3 (yin)
六三：无妄之災，或繫之牛，行人之得，邑人之災.
Translation
Line 3, yin: misfortune striking one who is without falsehood. An ox is tethered nearby; a passer-by takes it, and the villagers bear the blame.
Commentary
Neither centered nor correct, line 3 meets misfortune it did not cause itself — like an ox that goes missing while the villagers are wrongly blamed for it.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：可貞，无咎.
Translation
Line 4, yang: able to hold to what is right — without fault.
Commentary
Correctly placed though not centered, line 4 is in a difficult position, but by holding to what is right it remains without fault.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：无妄之疾，勿藥，有喜.
Translation
Line 5, yang: an illness that arose through no fault of one's own — no need for medicine, and there will be cause for joy.
Commentary
Centered and correct, line 5 shows that an illness not brought on by reckless action will heal on its own without treatment. The lesson is not to interfere where interference is not needed.
Line 6 (yang)
上九：无妄，行有眚，无攸利.
Translation
Top line, yang: without falsehood, yet acting now brings trouble — nothing to be gained.
Commentary
At the top, the virtue of Without Falsehood has reached its limit, but its time has passed, so acting now brings trouble and nothing is gained.