Mud

Mud is read as earth and water mixed — ground that has lost its firmness without becoming liquid. Earth combined with Water. Traditional reading asks whether you are stuck or merely marked, which are very different readings.

Natural features are read by state and conditions. Mud is read as earth and water mixed — ground that has lost its firmness without becoming liquid. Traditional readings look at whether it is calm or disturbed, near or distant. Mud that dries and can be brushed off is a reported variant, read as an impediment that does not last.

Sources are notably practical here: mud is read by whether it impedes progress or just leaves a trace, and the lotus association softens it further. It is grouped under Earth (土) in the five-element system.