I Ching · King Wen 23
Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
䷖ 剝 Bō · also called Stripping, Peeling, Collapse · Keeping Still above The Receptive
A structure being stripped away from below: not a time to act, a time to endure and to give.
declineendurancegenerositypatiencerenewal
The meaning of Hexagram 23
Earth below, mountain above: a mountain resting on earth that is eroding beneath it. Five yin lines rise beneath one yang line at the top; the structure is collapsing from the bottom. Splitting Apart describes a time of decline in which the inferior is in the ascendant and the worthy have no leverage. The tradition's judgement is plain: it does not further to go anywhere. The image adds the remedy: those above secure their position by generosity to those below. The reading is not a catastrophe; it is a season, and the last line promises that the seed survives it.
The image. The mountain rests on the earth; those above secure their position by generosity to those below.
- Advice
- Do not advance; endure, be generous downward, and protect the seed for the next season.
- Warning
- Acting against a collapse in progress brings the collapse down on you.
over
Structure: ☷ The Receptive (Earth) below, ☶ Keeping Still (Mountain) above. Nuclear hexagram 2, The Receptive. Every line reversed: 43, Breakthrough.
Hexagram 23 for love and relationships
Something is coming apart and pushing against it now accelerates the collapse. Do not act; endure with grace. Generosity, not argument, is the only thing that holds anything together in this season. What is sound survives it.
Hexagram 23 for career
The structure around you is being undermined and the wrong people have the momentum. This is not the time for initiatives or confrontation. Keep your integrity, support the people beneath you, and wait for the cycle to complete.
Hexagram 23 for money
Decline, and no good moment to reverse it by action. Protect what you can, avoid new commitments, and be generous where generosity secures loyalty. The uneaten fruit at the top is what you carry into the next cycle.
Hexagram 23 for decisions
Do not decide to move; decide to hold. The reading rules out advancing. The only active choice it supports is generosity toward those who depend on you.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
A large fruit, still uneaten. The superior person receives a carriage; the inferior person's house is split.
The one thing left at the top survives the stripping and carries the seed of the next cycle. For the worthy, the collapse ends in renewal; for the destroyer, in the loss of their own house. The line closes the season.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 2, The Receptive. Read line 6 →
A shoal of fishes. Favour comes through the court ladies. Nothing that does not further.
The turn: the inferior elements, led by one of their own, submit to the one strong line and are brought into order. Destruction becomes cooperation. The line is entirely favourable.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 20, Contemplation. Read line 5 →
The bed is split up to the skin. Misfortune.
The collapse reaches the person themselves. No warning helps now; the damage is direct and must be endured. The line does not soften it.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 35, Progress. Read line 4 →
One splits with them. No blame.
Someone caught among the destroyers who breaks with them out of loyalty to what is right. It costs friendships and it is correct. The tradition clears this person of blame entirely.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 52, Keeping Still. Read line 3 →
The bed is split at the edge. Persistence is destroyed. Misfortune.
The damage has reached higher and the person is increasingly isolated, with no allies to turn to. The line describes the danger of standing alone against a rising tide. Caution and adaptability are what remain.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 4, Youthful Folly. Read line 2 →
The leg of the bed is split. Persistence is destroyed. Misfortune.
Undermining begins at the base, quietly, through insinuation rather than open attack. The line warns that the foundation is being worked on before anyone notices. Loyalty is the first thing to go.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 27, Nourishment. 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 23 mean?
- A structure being stripped away from below: not a time to act, a time to endure and to give. Earth below, mountain above: a mountain resting on earth that is eroding beneath it. Five yin lines rise beneath one yang line at the top; the structure is collapsing from the bottom. Splitting Apart describes a time of decline in which the inferior is in the ascendant and the worthy have no leverage. The tradition's judgement is plain: it does not further to go anywhere. The image adds the remedy: those above secure their position by generosity to those below. The reading is not a catastrophe; it is a season, and the last line promises that the seed survives it.
- What does Hexagram 23 mean for love?
- Something is coming apart and pushing against it now accelerates the collapse. Do not act; endure with grace. Generosity, not argument, is the only thing that holds anything together in this season. What is sound survives it.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 23 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 27, Nourishment; line 2 gives Hexagram 4, Youthful Folly; line 3 gives Hexagram 52, Keeping Still; line 4 gives Hexagram 35, Progress; line 5 gives Hexagram 20, Contemplation; line 6 gives Hexagram 2, The Receptive. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 43, Breakthrough.