Thunder moves under heaven, spontaneously and without calculation. Wu Wang means being without falseness: acting from a natural, honest impulse in accord with what is right, rather than from scheming or expectation. It also includes the unexpected. Even innocent people meet misfortune they did not cause, and the answer is to stay true rather than react with calculation.
Judgment
无妄：元亨利貞。其匪正有眚，不利有攸往。
Without pretense: supreme success; steadfastness is favorable. If one is not upright, there is trouble, and it is not favorable to have anywhere to go.
Image
天下雷行，物與无妄；先王以茂對時育萬物。
Thunder travels beneath heaven, and every creature is given its unfeigned nature. Taking this as a model, the former kings, flourishing in step with the seasons, nurtured the ten thousand things.
- Spontaneity and sincerity
- Acting without ulterior motive
- The unexpected
- Natural rightness
- Accepting what you cannot control
- innocence
- sincerity
- spontaneity
- honesty
- surprise
- naturalness
- Act from honest impulse, not calculation.
- Don't expect a particular reward for doing right.
- Unexpected setbacks don't mean you were wrong.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Nine at the beginning 初九
Line text
无妄，往吉。
Without pretense, going on: good fortune.
Follow your first honest impulse. A pure intention, acted on directly, goes well.
- Trusting a pure impulse
- Direct action
- Overthinking until the impulse is lost
- Success through simple honesty
Line 2Six in the second place 六二
Line text
不耕穫，不菑畬，則利有攸往。
Not plowing with the harvest in mind, not clearing land with the third-year field in mind: then it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Do each task for its own sake, without fixating on the reward. Work done without calculation succeeds.
- Working without fixating on results
- Presence in the task
- Counting your harvest before it grows
- Results that come because you didn't grasp at them
Line 3Six in the third place 六三
Line text
无妄之災，或繫之牛，行人之得，邑人之災。
Unearned calamity. Someone tethers an ox; a passerby takes it, and the townspeople suffer for it.
You may be blamed or suffer for something you didn't do. This is the unpredictability of life. Accept it without bitterness, and don't let it change your integrity.
- Undeserved misfortune
- Unfairness
- Becoming bitter or cynical
- Staying true despite unfairness
Line 4Nine in the fourth place 九四
Line text
可貞，无咎。
One can be steadfast. No blame.
Hold to what is genuinely yours and right, regardless of what others say. You cannot lose what truly belongs to you.
- Holding to what is yours
- Independence of judgment
- Being talked out of what you know is right
- Security through inner conviction
Line 5Nine in the fifth place 九五
Line text
无妄之疾，勿藥有喜。
An illness one did not bring on: no medicine, and there will be joy.
An unexpected difficulty arises from outside. Don't overreact with drastic measures; let it run its course and it will resolve.
- Letting things heal naturally
- Not overreacting
- Making things worse with heavy remedies
- Natural resolution
Line 6Nine at the top 上九
Line text
无妄，行有眚，无攸利。
Without pretense, yet moving on brings trouble. Nothing is favorable.
Even with good intentions, this is not the moment to act. Timing matters. Wait quietly, even if you feel you are in the right.
- Wrong timing
- Waiting despite good intentions
- Acting just because your motives are good
- Waiting for a better moment
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
Movement (thunder) below heaven: action that follows the natural order without self-serving design. Wu Wang praises the sincerity of a mind without hidden motives, which is in harmony with the way of heaven and therefore successful. But the judgment warns that when the motive is not right, nothing will go well.
The hexagram is also known as "The Unexpected". Several lines describe misfortune or gains arriving through no fault or effort of one's own. The reading may suggest that you are dealing with things you cannot predict, and that the best response is to keep your conduct clean and avoid scheming. In relation to a question, Wu Wang may emphasize honesty, acting for its own sake, and calm acceptance of surprises.