The 64 hexagrams / Hexagram 29
The Abyss
Hexagram 29 · 坎 Kǎn
Water above · Water below
坎 palace · 本宫
What hexagram 29 says
Water doubled. One danger after another. The method is not escape but interior steadiness — and moving like water, around and through.
Above: Water (Kan) — abysmal, dangerous, flowing.
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
yang — solid
yin — broken
yin — broken
yang — solid
yin — broken
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 29 mean?
Hexagram 29, The Abyss, is made of Water above and Water below. Water doubled. One danger after another. The method is not escape but interior steadiness — and moving like water, around and through.
How do I read hexagram 29 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 29?
Hexagram 29 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 29 belong to?
In the six-line (liuyao) system, hexagram 29 sits in the 坎 palace, the ruling hexagram of its palace. The palace gives the hexagram its ruling element, and from that element the Six Relatives are assigned to each line.