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I Ching · Hexagram 39 Obstruction

Hexagram 39 for career: Obstruction

蹇 Jiǎn · Career

A real block. Do not attack it head-on. Turn to easier ground, seek advice from someone experienced, and use the pause to work on yourself. The reading treats the obstruction as an occasion for growth rather than a failure.

Mountain below, water above: a steep mountain with a treacherous stream at its top, an obstacle that cannot be walked through. Obstruction differs from Difficulty at the Beginning: this obstacle is outside you, in the terrain, and it is not passable by persistence alone. The tradition's judgement gives directions: the southwest furthers, the northeast does not, it furthers to see the great person, and persistence brings good fortune. The southwest is the open plain; the reading says to turn toward the easy ground, to seek allies and advice, and above all to turn inward and examine oneself, which the image names as the response to obstruction.

Advice
Turn toward the open ground, seek help, and use the block to examine yourself.
Warning
Charging the ravine alone, out of pride, is how an obstruction becomes an injury.

The changing lines, read for career

If your cast of Hexagram 39 had changing lines, these are what each one adds to a career question, and where each leads.

  1. Line 1 · changes into 63 After Completion

    Going leads to obstruction; coming meets with praise. Do not go forward into it; wait, and the waiting is right.

  2. Line 2 · changes into 48 The Well

    The king's servant meets obstruction upon obstruction, but it is not his own fault. If duty sends you into the block, go, and do not blame yourself for it.

  3. Line 3 · changes into 8 Holding Together

    Going leads to obstruction; hence one comes back. Come back to those who depend on you; that is the right retreat.

  4. Line 4 · changes into 31 Influence

    Going leads to obstruction; coming leads to union. Retreat to gather the people you need, then return together.

  5. Line 5 · changes into 15 Modesty

    In the midst of the greatest obstruction, friends come. Face it squarely; the friends you need come to someone who does.

  6. Line 6 · changes into 53 Development

    Going leads to obstruction; coming leads to great good fortune. It furthers to see the great person. Come back to help, and ally yourself with someone capable.

Hexagram 39 in fullLove & relationshipsMoneyA decision

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