The 64 hexagrams / Hexagram 47
Oppression
Hexagram 47 · 困 Kùn
Lake above · Water below
兑 palace · 一世
What hexagram 47 says
A lake with no water. Exhaustion, and words that will not be believed. Say nothing, cut consumption, and keep the one thing that cannot be given up: your intent.
Above: Lake (Dui) — joyous, open, reflecting.
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
yang — solid
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 47 mean?
Hexagram 47, Oppression, is made of Lake above and Water below. A lake with no water. Exhaustion, and words that will not be believed. Say nothing, cut consumption, and keep the one thing that cannot be given up: your intent.
How do I read hexagram 47 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 47?
Hexagram 47 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 47 belong to?
In the six-line (liuyao) system, hexagram 47 sits in the 兑 palace, first generation — the situation is just beginning to turn. The palace gives the hexagram its ruling element, and from that element the Six Relatives are assigned to each line.