I Ching · King Wen 43
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough
䷪ 夬 Guài · also called Resoluteness, Displacement, Parting · The Joyous above The Creative
Five strong lines against one weak one at the top: the decisive, open resolution of a last remaining wrong.
resolutiondeclarationopennessdangerdecisiveness
The meaning of Hexagram 43
Heaven below, lake above: a lake risen to the sky, about to burst. Breakthrough describes the moment when what has been building must break: a resolute declaration against a last inferior element, made openly and in the right way. The tradition's judgement is detailed. The matter must be declared publicly and truthfully; there is danger; one must notify one's own city and not resort to arms; it furthers to have somewhere to go. The image warns against hoarding the gains. The reading says the time for resolution has come, that it should be done in the open, by declaration rather than force, and that the last remnant of the old must not be underestimated.
The image. The lake has risen to heaven; the wise person distributes riches downward and does not rest on their virtue.
- Advice
- Resolve the matter openly and truthfully, by declaration not force, and share what it frees.
- Warning
- Underestimating the last inferior element, or resolving it by violence, turns the breakthrough against you.
over
Structure: ☰ The Creative (Heaven) below, ☱ The Joyous (Lake) above. Nuclear hexagram 1, The Creative. Every line reversed: 23, Splitting Apart.
Hexagram 43 for love and relationships
Something must be said plainly and finally. Say it openly and without violence, and expect it to be dangerous. The reading favours the clear declaration over both silence and force, and warns against being too sure of the outcome.
Hexagram 43 for career
A decisive break with a last remaining problem, a person or a practice. Declare it in the open, through proper means, and do not underestimate the resistance. Share the gains of the resolution rather than keeping them.
Hexagram 43 for money
The moment to resolve a lingering financial wrong, decisively and transparently. Not the moment to hoard the results. Distribute what the breakthrough frees.
Hexagram 43 for decisions
Decide, and decide openly. The reading supports the resolute option provided it is declared rather than forced, and it says to keep a destination in view. Half-measures now leave the last remnant to grow back.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
No cry. In the end, misfortune.
The last remnant, apparently defeated, ignored, and returning. Or the person who thinks the breakthrough complete and stops watching. The line is the warning at the top of the hexagram: the end is not the end until it is.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 1, The Creative. Read line 6 →
Dealing with weeds needs firm resolution. Walking in the middle, one is free of blame.
The inferior element is close and tenacious, like a weed with deep roots, and must be removed again and again with steady resolution. The middle way is firmness without excess.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 34, Great Power. Read line 5 →
No skin on the thighs, walking is hard. Led like a sheep, remorse disappears. Hearing these words, one does not believe them.
Restless obstinacy that cannot move and cannot stop. The line's remedy is to let oneself be led for a time, and it predicts that the person will not accept the advice. Stubbornness is its own obstacle.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 5, Waiting. Read line 4 →
Powerful in the cheekbones brings misfortune. The superior person is firmly resolved. He walks alone and is caught in the rain, spattered and murmured against. No blame.
Someone whose resolve shows too plainly in the face, and who is nevertheless right to hold to it, even while misunderstood and alone. The determination is correct; the display of it is the danger.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 58, The Joyous. Read line 3 →
A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and night. Fear nothing.
Alert and prepared, so that the danger, when it comes, finds nothing to attack. Readiness is the cure for fear. The line describes vigilance that has made itself calm.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 49, Revolution. Read line 2 →
Mighty in the forward-striding toes. Going without being equal to the task brings a mistake.
The urge to break through before the strength to do it is in place. The toes stride forward and the rest of the body is not ready. The line warns against a first step that outruns the capacity.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 28, Great Excess. 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 43 mean?
- Five strong lines against one weak one at the top: the decisive, open resolution of a last remaining wrong. Heaven below, lake above: a lake risen to the sky, about to burst. Breakthrough describes the moment when what has been building must break: a resolute declaration against a last inferior element, made openly and in the right way. The tradition's judgement is detailed. The matter must be declared publicly and truthfully; there is danger; one must notify one's own city and not resort to arms; it furthers to have somewhere to go. The image warns against hoarding the gains. The reading says the time for resolution has come, that it should be done in the open, by declaration rather than force, and that the last remnant of the old must not be underestimated.
- What does Hexagram 43 mean for love?
- Something must be said plainly and finally. Say it openly and without violence, and expect it to be dangerous. The reading favours the clear declaration over both silence and force, and warns against being too sure of the outcome.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 43 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 28, Great Excess; line 2 gives Hexagram 49, Revolution; line 3 gives Hexagram 58, The Joyous; line 4 gives Hexagram 5, Waiting; line 5 gives Hexagram 34, Great Power; line 6 gives Hexagram 1, The Creative. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart.