Hexagram 15 for love
Hexagram 15 Humility in love and relationships
Qian is a mountain hidden inside the earth: greatness keeping itself low. In a relationship it is a partner who does not insist on being seen, and a bond that works because neither needs to win. It is the only hexagram whose six lines all turn out well; the Tuan explains that heaven, earth, spirits and people 'diminish the full and add to the humble.' The Great Image's 'take from the much and add to the little' is the daily practice of a couple levelling things.
The lines show modesty at different depths. One is humble upon humble, enough for a great crossing; two is modesty others have noticed and that must stay sincere; three, the heart of the hexagram, does the work and never mentions it. Four shows deference both ways; five is the gentle partner who acts firmly when humility is taken for granted; six is modesty known but unfulfilled, which must look to its own house. A changing line in the lower trigram concerns your own humility; in the upper, the moment humility must also act.
The hexagram in brief
A mountain hidden within the earth: greatness that stays low. The only hexagram whose six lines all turn out well — humility succeeds, and the superior person carries things through to the end.
Take less, give more, level the heights: modesty is a strength that others gladly support.
The judgment
謙：亨，君子有終。Khien indicates progress and success. The superior man, (being humble as it implies), will have a (good) issue (to his undertakings).
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 謙 Humility has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginninghumble upon humble · crossing the river · tending oneself low
- 六二Six in the second placehumility that sounds · from the heart · central and correct
- 九三Nine in the third placemerit with humility · ruler of the hexagram · all submit
- 六四Six in the fourth placenothing unfavourable · showing humility · not breaking the rule
- 六五Six in the fifth placenot rich, yet neighbours · correcting the unsubmissive · humility with force
- 上六Six at the tophumility heard · aim not attained · only one's own town
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Is hexagram 15, Humility, a good sign for love?
- Qian is a mountain hidden inside the earth: greatness keeping itself low. In a relationship it is a partner who does not insist on being seen, and a bond that works because neither needs to win. It is the only hexagram whose six lines all turn out well; the Tuan explains that heaven, earth, spirits and people 'diminish the full and add to the humble.' The Great Image's 'take from the much and add to the little' is the daily practice of a couple levelling things.
- What does Hexagram 15, 謙 Humility, mean?
- A mountain hidden within the earth: greatness that stays low. The only hexagram whose six lines all turn out well — humility succeeds, and the superior person carries things through to the end.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).