Hexagram 23
Splitting Apart
剝 · 박
Mountain over Earth
The Judgment
The supporting order is being stripped away from below, and what remains upright can no longer rely upon its former foundation. This is not a favorable season for pressing forward. Inferior influences gain ground, while the worthy must preserve their substance without demanding immediate recognition. Discern the movement of the time and refrain from a contest that would merely hasten collapse. Quiet endurance is not surrender of principle; it shelters the living root until conditions can change.
The Image
The mountain rests upon the earth, its height dependent upon a broad and stable base. The noble one understands that those above are secure only when those below are supported. Generosity toward the people strengthens the foundation; neglect beneath eventually brings even imposing structures down.
In the light of the Dao
When form is being worn away, do not cling to the shell as though it were the source of life. Yield what the season has already loosened. The Way preserves itself through withdrawal and reduction, keeping the seed when the branches cannot stand.
The two trigrams
Upper · outer
☶Mountain
Keeping still · Youngest son
Lower · inner
☷Earth
Receptive, yielding · Mother
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line speaks only when it moves — when the cast gives it as 6 or 9.
First line · the beginning · yin, six
The bed is damaged first at its legs: the earliest loss occurs in what quietly supports repose. Forces hostile to right order are already undermining its footing. Treating this as harmless invites misfortune, for the visible surface still conceals a failing foundation.
Second line · the inner centre · yin, six
The stripping reaches the bed's frame, nearer the place where the person rests. Support is no longer merely weakened at a distance; the danger has advanced into one's immediate arrangements. Right order continues to be eroded, and the prospect is unfavorable.
Third line · the threshold · yin, six
Among those contributing to decline, one breaks away and turns toward the remaining worthy influence. Separation from one's companions may be uncomfortable, but loyalty to a corrupt group is no virtue. By leaving the destructive movement, one avoids sharing its blame.
Fourth line · the minister · yin, six
The destruction reaches the surface upon which the body lies, bringing danger directly to the person. There is no longer a safe interval between structural failure and suffering. This line warns of serious misfortune when the stripping process has been allowed to advance unchecked.
Fifth line · the ruler · yin, six
The yielding forces become orderly, like fish gathered in a single sequence, and approach authority without rivalry. Those who might have undermined the whole instead accept a harmonious place within it. Through disciplined receptivity and rightly directed influence, benefit becomes possible on every side.
Top line · the end · yang, nine
A large fruit remains uneaten, holding the possibility of renewal. For the noble person, surviving worth wins support and becomes a vehicle for future service. For the petty person, the same final destruction consumes the very shelter on which personal safety depended.