The 64 hexagrams / Hexagram 20
Contemplation
Hexagram 20 · 观 Guān
Wind above · Earth below
乾 palace · 四世
What hexagram 20 says
Wind passing over the earth: total visibility. This is a moment to look, not to act. Watch what people do, not what they say.
Above: Wind (Xun) — penetrating, gentle, persistent.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. The first line is the beginning of the situation, the sixth is its outer edge. The Chinese text is the classical line text; the line below it is a reading of what it is pointing at.
yin — broken
yin — broken
yin — broken
yin — broken
yang — solid
yang — solid
How to use this hexagram
If you cast this as your primary hexagram, it describes the situation you are in. If it came up as the transformed hexagram, it describes where things are heading once the changing lines have flipped. If you are only looking it up, read the judgment first — the line texts are for specific moments inside the situation, not for the situation as a whole.
Frequently asked
What does I Ching hexagram 20 mean?
Hexagram 20, Contemplation, is made of Wind above and Earth below. Wind passing over the earth: total visibility. This is a moment to look, not to act. Watch what people do, not what they say.
How do I read hexagram 20 in a casting?
Read the primary hexagram first — it describes the situation as it stands. If any of your six lines were changing lines (sixes or nines from the coin tosses), read those lines' texts next: they mark where the situation is moving. The hexagram produced after those lines flip is the transformed hexagram, and it shows where the movement leads.
What are the six lines of hexagram 20?
Hexagram 20 has six lines, read from the bottom up. The texts below are given in order, first line (bottom) to sixth line (top).
Which palace does hexagram 20 belong to?
In the six-line (liuyao) system, hexagram 20 sits in the 乾 palace, fourth generation — the inversion is deepening. The palace gives the hexagram its ruling element, and from that element the Six Relatives are assigned to each line.