Hexagram 47
Oppression
困 · 곤
Lake over Water
The Judgment
Oppression narrows outward possibilities, yet it need not defeat the inward purpose. Success remains possible through steadfastness, especially for the person whose greatness rests in character rather than circumstance. Such a person can endure restriction without incurring blame or surrendering the right. Speech, however, finds little credit in this season; explanations and promises cannot compel belief. Preserve what is essential, husband your strength, and let conduct bear witness where words no longer open a path.
The Image
The lake has lost its water, leaving the basin unable to nourish what depends upon it. The noble one meets this image by holding fast to the chosen purpose even when life itself is at stake. When outer resources fail, fidelity must arise from a source circumstances cannot command.
In the light of the Dao
Constraint reveals how much strength has been spent resisting what cannot presently change. Yield at the edges without abandoning the living center. Like water concealed below a dry basin, the way may continue unseen. Silence and simplicity conserve the vitality that argument and resentment would scatter.
The two trigrams
Upper · outer
☱Lake
Joyous, open · Youngest daughter
Lower · inner
☵Water
Abysmal, danger · Middle son
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
You settle against something barren and receive no support. Discouragement then draws you into an inward ravine, where isolation may last a long season. The danger is not hardship alone but accepting darkness as your dwelling. Recognize how withdrawal has deepened the original constraint.
Second line · the inner centre · yang, nine
There is food and drink, yet the spirit remains oppressed; material sufficiency does not answer the deeper difficulty. A summons from authority may approach. Prepare yourself through reverence and sincere offering rather than restless departure. Premature action brings trouble, though the condition itself is not blameworthy.
Third line · the threshold · yin, six
You press against an unyielding obstruction and seek support from something that wounds. Returning home, you find the companionship you expected absent. Misfortune follows from relying on what cannot sustain you. Stop mistaking resistance for opportunity and a harmful attachment for shelter.
Fourth line · the minister · yang, nine
Help comes slowly because rank, possessions, or concern for appearances obstruct the movement toward those who need you. The delay is humiliating, but it need not determine the ending. Persist in making genuine contact; the encumbering vehicle can be overcome, and the connection finally established.
Fifth line · the ruler · yang, nine
You suffer humiliating restriction, as though deprived of the means to act and move, while official power adds to the pressure. Relief nevertheless develops gradually. Do not force its arrival. Reverent offering and inward composure prepare the heart to receive the joy that slowly returns.
Top line · the end · yin, six
The oppression has become a tangle of clinging obstacles and anxious thoughts about every possible movement. You fear that action itself will bring regret. Recognize the error in this fearful entanglement and change your course. Once that recognition is sincere, going forward brings good fortune.