師
Shī · The Army
An army is a community under discipline, not a crowd with weapons.
The judgment
師：貞，丈人，吉無咎。
The army needs discipline and a mature leader. With both, there is good fortune and no blame.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex07.judgment.
The image
象曰：地中有水，師。君子以容民畜眾。
Water hidden in the earth: the army. A capable person holds the people and gathers the many without draining them.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex07.image.
Force is only legitimate when the cause is clear and the person leading it is trusted.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初六 師出以律，否臧凶。 The army sets out under rules. Without order, even a good cause goes badly.
The army sets out under rules. Without order, even a good cause goes badly.
九二 在師中，吉無咎，王三錫命。 You are in the middle of the army and trusted. Good fortune, no blame; the ruler keeps confirming your command.
You are in the middle of the army and trusted. Good fortune, no blame; the ruler keeps confirming your command.
六三 師或輿尸，凶。 The army may come home with carts of bodies. This is the line of a command that should not have been given.
The army may come home with carts of bodies. This is the line of a command that should not have been given.
六四 師左次，無咎。 The army withdraws to the left and waits. Retreat is not failure when the position is wrong.
The army withdraws to the left and waits. Retreat is not failure when the position is wrong.
六五 田有禽，利執言，無咎。長子帥師，弟子輿尸，貞凶。 There is game in the field and it is right to act. But the elder must lead; if the younger leads, bodies come home. Even a correct cause ends badly with the wrong commander.
There is game in the field and it is right to act. But the elder must lead; if the younger leads, bodies come home. Even a correct cause ends badly with the wrong commander.
上六 大君有命，開國承家，小人勿用。 The ruler gives out rewards and founds houses. Do not put small-minded people in charge of what was won.
The ruler gives out rewards and founds houses. Do not put small-minded people in charge of what was won.