I Ching · King Wen 20
Hexagram 20: Contemplation
䷓ 觀 Guān · also called View, Observing, Looking Up · The Gentle above The Receptive
Looking and being looked at: a moment for seeing the whole clearly before anything is done.
perspectiveobservationsincerityexampleinsight
The meaning of Hexagram 20
Earth below, wind above: wind moving across the land, reaching everywhere. The Chinese character means both to observe and to be observed, and the hexagram holds both: a tower from which the whole country can be seen, and a tower that the whole country can see. Contemplation describes a pause for perspective. The tradition's image is of the moment in a ritual after the purification and before the offering, when sincerity is at its highest and nothing has yet been done. The reading asks you to look, honestly, at the whole situation and at yourself, and to understand that you are also being watched.
The image. Wind moves over the earth; the ancient kings visited the regions, observed the people and gave instruction.
- Advice
- Take the wide view, examine yourself honestly, and act only once you have seen the whole.
- Warning
- Looking without the sincerity to see yourself in the picture is only spectating.
over
Structure: ☷ The Receptive (Earth) below, ☴ The Gentle (Wind) above. Nuclear hexagram 23, Splitting Apart. Every line reversed: 34, Great Power.
Hexagram 20 for love and relationships
Step back and look at the whole relationship rather than the last argument. See the pattern. The reading also reminds you that how you behave is being observed and forms the other person's view of you.
Hexagram 20 for career
A time for assessment rather than action: survey the whole field, understand the people, and set an example by how you conduct the survey. Others are watching how you look at them.
Hexagram 20 for money
Review before you act. Look at the whole financial picture with honesty, including the parts you have been avoiding. Decisions made from this overview are sounder than any made in the moment.
Hexagram 20 for decisions
Do not decide yet; see. Take the widest view available, examine your own motives, and let the decision follow from clarity. The pause is not avoidance; it is the offering before the act.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
Contemplating one's own life, free of self. The superior person is without blame.
The highest form of looking: seeing your own life as if from outside, without ego, as part of the whole. The line describes detachment that is not coldness. The observer includes themselves in what is observed.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 8, Holding Together. Read line 6 →
Contemplating my own life. The superior person is without blame.
The person in charge looking at themselves through the effects they have on others. Not self-absorption; the question is what has come of my conduct in the world. Where the effects are good, there is no blame.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart. Read line 5 →
Contemplating the light of the kingdom. It furthers to be the guest of a king.
Someone who understands the workings of the whole and is invited to take part in them. Insight has become useful. The line favours accepting a role of influence, as an honoured guest rather than a subordinate.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 12, Standstill. Read line 4 →
Contemplating my own life decides the choice between advance and retreat.
Self-examination as the basis for action. Not what others think, not what the situation seems to demand, but an honest look at the effects of your own conduct so far. From that, the choice follows.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 53, Development. Read line 3 →
Contemplation through the crack of the door. Furthering for a woman's persistence.
A narrow, partial view of a large thing, from a sheltered position. It is adequate for a limited role and inadequate for anyone who has to act in the world. The line names the limitation without contempt.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 59, Dispersion. Read line 2 →
Boy-like contemplation. For a lesser person no blame; for the superior person, humiliation.
Seeing only the surface, as a child sees a procession. Excusable in someone with no responsibility; embarrassing in someone who should understand more. The line asks how deep your looking goes.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 42, Increase. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 20 mean?
- Looking and being looked at: a moment for seeing the whole clearly before anything is done. Earth below, wind above: wind moving across the land, reaching everywhere. The Chinese character means both to observe and to be observed, and the hexagram holds both: a tower from which the whole country can be seen, and a tower that the whole country can see. Contemplation describes a pause for perspective. The tradition's image is of the moment in a ritual after the purification and before the offering, when sincerity is at its highest and nothing has yet been done. The reading asks you to look, honestly, at the whole situation and at yourself, and to understand that you are also being watched.
- What does Hexagram 20 mean for love?
- Step back and look at the whole relationship rather than the last argument. See the pattern. The reading also reminds you that how you behave is being observed and forms the other person's view of you.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 20 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 42, Increase; line 2 gives Hexagram 59, Dispersion; line 3 gives Hexagram 53, Development; line 4 gives Hexagram 12, Standstill; line 5 gives Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart; line 6 gives Hexagram 8, Holding Together. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 34, Great Power.