Hexagram 52, line 1
初六Line 1 of Stillness (Mountain)
Six at the beginning · 艮 gèn
爻辭 The line text
艮其趾，无咎，利永貞。The first line, divided, shows its subject keeping his toes at rest. There will be no error; but it will be advantageous for him to be persistently firm and correct.
艮其趾，未失正也。'He keeps his toes at rest:'—he does not fail in what is correct (according to the idea of the figure).
In plain words
Stillness begins where movement begins: 'keeping the toes still; no blame; favourable to be lastingly firm.' Line one is yin in a yang place at the very bottom, the point where a step would start — and it does not start. Stopping before the first step is the easiest stillness there is, which is why the text gives no blame but also no fortune; the small Image says only 未失正也, it has not yet lost what is correct. The warning 利永貞 is for a weak line that might not keep it up: stillness at the toes has to be held, not merely begun.
If this line is changing
Stop before you take the first step, while stopping is still easy; the hard part is not the halt but keeping it when the urge to move returns.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 4: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
艮 Stillness (Mountain) becomes ䷕ 22 賁 Adornment
Fire at the foot of the mountain: beauty lighting the forms of things. Success in small matters through grace and style; ornament should serve substance, not replace it.
What it becomes22 · 賁 AdornmentbìThe six lines of 艮 Stillness (Mountain)
- 初六Six at the beginningstill toes · before moving · lasting firmness
- 六二Six in the second placestill calves · cannot rescue · unheard
- 九三Nine in the third placethe loins · rigid stop · scorched heart
- 六四Six in the fourth placethe trunk · self-contained · no blame
- 六五Six in the fifth placethe jaws · ordered speech · regret gone
- 上九Nine at the topgenerous stillness · the summit · a good end
Read 艮 Stillness (Mountain) for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the beginning of hexagram 52, Stillness (Mountain), mean?
- Stillness begins where movement begins: 'keeping the toes still; no blame; favourable to be lastingly firm.' Line one is yin in a yang place at the very bottom, the point where a step would start — and it does not start. Stopping before the first step is the easiest stillness there is, which is why the text gives no blame but also no fortune; the small Image says only 未失正也, it has not yet lost what is correct. The warning 利永貞 is for a weak line that might not keep it up: stillness at the toes has to be held, not merely begun.
- What does hexagram 52 become when line 1 changes?
- Stillness (Mountain) becomes hexagram 22, 賁 Adornment: Fire at the foot of the mountain: beauty lighting the forms of things. Success in small matters through grace and style; ornament should serve substance, not replace it.
- Is line 1 of Stillness (Mountain) in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).