Hexagram 9: Small Accumulation
Outer trigram (upper)
Tốn
Wind · Wood
Inner trigram (lower)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Judgment
小畜：亨．密雲不雨，自我西郊.
Tiểu súc: Hanh. Mật vân bất vũ, tự ngã tây giao.
Translation
Small restraint (or small accumulation — to accumulate also carries the sense of holding back, gathering in). This brings success. Thick clouds gather but no rain falls, over our western fields.
Commentary
Trigram Càn (strong, unyielding) sits below trigram Tốn (gentle, yielding), meaning that yin (Tốn) is able to restrain yang (Càn) — the small holds back the great. Looking at the lines, line 4 is the yielding line that holds its proper place; it is the most important line in the hexagram (following the principle that where the many are led by the few, the few becomes master), for it alone restrains the five yang lines and makes them yield to it — hence the name Small Restraint (the small restrains the great). Because it manages to check both line 2 and line 5, which are strong yang lines, the outcome will indeed bring success. But because its own strength is small, its power of restraint is limited, and things cannot yet unfold fully — like clouds massed thick in the west that have not yet dispersed, not yet ready to release rain.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：復自道，何其咎？吉.
Translation
Returning to one's own proper path — what fault could there be? Good fortune.
Commentary
This line is strong yang, positioned within the inner trigram Càn — it has ability and the ambition to advance. But because this is the hexagram of Small Restraint, its correspondent, line 4, holds it back. It must turn back and stop advancing, which actually accords with the wisdom of acting according to the moment, so there is no fault in it at all.
Line 2 (yang)
九二：牽復，吉.
Translation
Drawing one another back to the proper path together brings good fortune.
Commentary
This line and line 5 share the same aim: both are strong yang, both hold the central position, and both wish to advance. But both are held back by the yielding line 4, so together they draw each other back to the path of balance, without losing their own inner virtue.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：輿說輻，夫妻反目.
Translation
The cart loses its axle; husband and wife quarrel with each other.
Commentary
Line 3 is overly strong (since both its nature and position are yang) and off-center, pushing forward too eagerly. But line 4 above blocks its way, so it cannot advance — like a cart that has lost its axle. This line sits right next to line 4, yang beside yin, yet without being its true correspondent, like a husband and wife who quarrel with each other. The fault lies with line 3, for failing to read the moment — forgetting that in the time of Small Restraint, it should yield to its 'wife.'
Line 4 (yin)
六四：有孚，血去，惕出．无咎.
Translation
Through utter sincerity, the wound heals, fear departs, and there is no fault.
Commentary
This line is yin, gentle and yielding, yet facing so many yang lines it can hardly avoid conflict — bloodshed and fear are real risks. But it holds its proper position (a yin line in a yin place), stays close to line 5 — intimate with the most honored position — and, in the time of Small Restraint, has line 1 as its true correspondent while line 2 also supports it. So it manages to avoid bloodshed and fear, and there is no fault.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：有孚，攣如，富以其鄰.
Translation
With true sincerity, it binds and leads the whole company of yang lines together; rich in ability and virtue, it wins over its neighbor through influence.
Commentary
This line holds the most honored position, commanding respect and leading the other yang lines. Being balanced and correct, that is, sincere at heart, it draws the other yang lines to follow it, while also supporting the yin line 4 beside it — influencing it, guiding it, and enabling it to fulfill its role in the time of Small Restraint.
Line 6 (yang)
上九：既雨，既處，尚德載．婦貞厲．月幾望，君子征凶.
Translation
The rain has fallen at last, and all is calm; the gentle, yielding virtue of line 4 has reached its fullness — it has succeeded in restraining the men. But if the 'wife' insists on holding her 'husband' back forever, that is dangerous. The moon is nearly full — at its peak — and if the noble person presses forward without caution or preparation, misfortune follows.
Commentary
This is the final stage of trigram Tốn, and also the final stage of the hexagram Small Restraint. Line 4 has succeeded to the utmost — all the yang lines have come into harmony with it, like thick clouds that have finally released their rain, and all is settled. At this point, restraint should stop; to keep holding the yang lines back indefinitely invites disaster. And the yang lines — the noble people — should also stay watchful and prepared, since yin is approaching its point of greatest strength, like the moon nearing fullness.