10
Hexagram 10, Lü — “Treading,” “Careful Conduct.” The image is walking on the tail of a tiger.
The image of the hexagram
Below is the trigram Dui (lake), above is Qian (heaven). Heaven over the lake: the weak stands next to the strong and holds its ground only through precise conduct.
General meaning
The answer: you can get through, but manner matters more than substance. Lü describes a situation where you are weaker than the circumstances or your counterpart, and what decides it is not strength but tact: courtesy, distance, no sudden moves. The classic line is “he treads on the tail of the tiger, and it does not bite.”
In love and at work
In relationships — inequality: in age, status, or involvement. You can't force your way through, but you shouldn't fawn either. At work — a talk with management, a major client, negotiating from a position of weakness: pointed correctness helps. As a “yes or no” — yes, if you tread carefully.
What to do
Keep to the form: precise, brief, nothing extra. That is exactly how a risky step gets through today.