Hexagram 39 for love
Hexagram 39 Impasse in love and relationships
Jian is water on the mountain: danger ahead, stillness below, a pass that cannot be forced. For a relationship it describes a stretch when things are hard going — a distance that cannot be crossed by trying harder, a difficulty in the other person's life or between the two of you that pushing against only deepens. The Judgment says the south-west, the open plain, is favourable and the north-east, the mountain, is not; the Great Image says the superior person 'turns back to examine himself and cultivate his virtue'. In a relationship that means the work to do now is on your side of it.
The lines repeat one lesson in six situations: going forward is obstruction, coming back is good. Line one has not yet set out and should wait; two struggles on for the other's sake and is not blamed; three turns back to those who rely on it; four stops trying alone and joins forces; five, at the centre of the hardship, finds that friends come; six, nearly clear, turns back to help. A changing line in the lower trigram says do not push; in the upper, help is at hand or is yours to give.
The hexagram in brief
Water on the mountain: a hard pass. Favourable to the southwest, not the northeast; see the great man — obstruction is a time to turn back and cultivate yourself.
Don't batter the obstacle; go round, seek help, and use the delay to grow.
The judgment
蹇：利西南，不利東北；利見大人，貞吉。In (the state indicated by) Kien advantage will be found in the south-west, and the contrary in the north-east. It will be advantageous (also) to meet with the great man. (In these circumstances), with firmness and correctness, there will be good fortune.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 蹇 Impasse has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginninggoing means difficulty · staying brings praise · wait
- 六二Six in the second placethe king's minister · difficulty upon difficulty · not for oneself
- 九三Nine in the third placeturning back · the inner circle rejoices · the one strong line below
- 六四Six in the fourth placejoining forces · already in the water · solid in its place
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe great obstruction · friends arrive · central virtue
- 上六Six at the topgreat gain in staying · the will turned inward · following the noble
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Is hexagram 39, Impasse, a good sign for love?
- Jian is water on the mountain: danger ahead, stillness below, a pass that cannot be forced. For a relationship it describes a stretch when things are hard going — a distance that cannot be crossed by trying harder, a difficulty in the other person's life or between the two of you that pushing against only deepens. The Judgment says the south-west, the open plain, is favourable and the north-east, the mountain, is not; the Great Image says the superior person 'turns back to examine himself and cultivate his virtue'. In a relationship that means the work to do now is on your side of it.
- What does Hexagram 39, 蹇 Impasse, mean?
- Water on the mountain: a hard pass. Favourable to the southwest, not the northeast; see the great man — obstruction is a time to turn back and cultivate yourself.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).