The 64 hexagrams / Hexagram 60
Limitation
Hexagram 60 · 节 Jié
Water above · Lake below
坎 palace · 一世
What hexagram 60 says
Water above the lake, held by its banks. Limitation keeps the whole thing from spilling. But the bitter limit cannot be sustained — choose a sweet one.
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.
yang — solid
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 60 mean?
Hexagram 60, Limitation, is made of Water above and Lake below. Water above the lake, held by its banks. Limitation keeps the whole thing from spilling. But the bitter limit cannot be sustained — choose a sweet one.
How do I read hexagram 60 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 60?
Hexagram 60 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 60 belong to?
In the six-line (liuyao) system, hexagram 60 sits in the 坎 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.