Hexagram 47, Kùn (Exhaustion): Line 3

困卦六三 · 泽水困 · 中文版

六三:困于石,据于蒺藜,入于其宫,不见其妻,凶。

The line (Legge)

The third SIX, divided, shows its subject straitened before a (frowning) rock. He lays hold of thorns. He enters his palace, and does not see his wife. There will be evil.

Small Image commentary

'He lays hold of thorns:' - (this is suggested by the position of the line) above the strong (line). 'He enters his palace, and does not see his wife:' - this is inauspicious.

象曰:据于蒺藜,乘刚也。入于其宫,不见其妻,不祥也。

In plain words

Oppressed by stone, leaning on thorns; entering one's house, one does not see one's wife: misfortune. The third line is weak, neither central nor correct; the fourth line ahead is the stone and the second below is the thorns, so there is nothing to lean on either way. The Great Commentary says: to be oppressed by what need not oppress you brings disgrace to your name. The Small Image says leaning on thorns means riding on the strong, and not seeing one's wife is inauspicious.

Applying it to your situation

If you find yourself in a trap you did not need to fall into, this line suggests looking back at how you got there. Which step could you have avoided?

Position

A broken (yin) line in the third place, which is a yang (odd) place, so it is not in its proper place. Its partner is line 6; both are yin, so they do not respond.

If this line moves

With this line moving alone, Kùn changes into Hexagram 28 Dà Guò (Great Exceeding). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·困之大过.

The hexagram

Hexagram 47 Kùn (Exhaustion). The Judgment: In (the condition denoted by) Kun there may (yet be) progress and success. For the firm and correct, the (really) great man, there will be good fortune. He will fall into no error. If he make speeches, his words cannot be made good.

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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction. Plain-English readings and position notes by this site.

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