I Ching · King Wen 47
Hexagram 47: Oppression
䷮ 困 Kùn · also called Exhaustion, Confining, Adversity · The Joyous above The Abysmal
A lake with no water: exhaustion, confinement, and the strength of character that carries a person through.
exhaustionconfinementcharacterendurancesilence
The meaning of Hexagram 47
Water below, lake above: the water has drained out of the lake, leaving it dry. Oppression describes exhaustion, the state of being hemmed in and drained, the tree in the enclosure. The tradition's judgement is remarkable for its confidence: success, persistence, the great person brings good fortune, no blame. And then: when one has something to say, it is not believed. The reading says the situation is oppressive and that the way through is not argument, which no one will hear, but character: the wise person stakes their life on following their will. What cannot be changed outside is met by what cannot be broken inside.
The image. The lake has no water; the wise person stakes their life on following their will.
- Advice
- Do not argue when you will not be believed; hold your will and your character, and endure.
- Warning
- Talking your way out of oppression fails; only steadiness of character carries through it.
over
Structure: ☵ The Abysmal (Water) below, ☱ The Joyous (Lake) above. Nuclear hexagram 37, The Family. Every line reversed: 22, Grace.
Hexagram 47 for love and relationships
A drained, hemmed-in stretch, and a time when explaining yourself does not work because words are not believed. Do not argue. Hold your integrity and wait. The lines say oppression is survived by what a person is, not by what they say.
Hexagram 47 for career
Exhaustion and confinement: blocked, unheard, worn down. The reading advises against making your case now; it will not be heard. Keep your standards, conserve your strength, and let your conduct speak until words can again.
Hexagram 47 for money
Resources drained, options narrow. Endure without panic, avoid desperate moves, and do not try to talk your way out; act quietly and correctly. The tradition promises that the person of character comes through.
Hexagram 47 for decisions
Not a time to decide anything large, and not a time to persuade. Choose the option that costs least and preserves your integrity, and wait for the water to return.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
Oppressed by creeping vines. Moving uncertainly and saying that movement brings remorse. If one feels remorse over this and makes a start, good fortune comes.
Bound by something that could be broken, and held only by the belief that breaking it would be a mistake. The line's release is a change of mind: regret for the hesitation, and then a start. The vines are weaker than they feel.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 6, Conflict. Read line 6 →
Nose and feet cut off. Oppression at the hands of the man with the purple knee bands. Joy comes softly. It furthers to offer sacrifice.
Someone in a high position, oppressed from above and below, unable to act, and finding relief slowly through inner composure rather than outer change. The line asks for sacrifice, meaning the surrender of what one cannot control.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 40, Deliverance. Read line 5 →
One comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but the end is reached.
Wanting to help someone below and held back by the comforts and obligations of one's own position. The help comes slowly and awkwardly, and it comes. The line forgives the delay.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 29, The Abysmal. Read line 4 →
One lets oneself be oppressed by stone and leans on thorns and thistles. One enters the house and does not see the wife. Misfortune.
Struggling against what cannot be moved and leaning on what cannot support, until even home offers nothing. Indecision and misdirected effort together. The line is the hexagram's picture of exhaustion made worse by fighting the wrong things.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 28, Great Excess. Read line 3 →
Oppressed while at food and drink. The man with the red knee bands is just coming. It furthers to offer sacrifice. To set forth brings misfortune. No blame.
Outwardly comfortable, inwardly stifled; help is on its way from someone of standing. The line asks for patience and inner sacrifice, and warns against setting off on one's own before the help arrives.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 45, Gathering Together. Read line 2 →
One sits oppressed under a bare tree and strays into a gloomy valley. For three years one sees nothing.
Giving way to the oppression, sinking into gloom and losing the way for a long time. The line describes what happens when exhaustion becomes despair: the valley is dark because the person walked into it.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 58, The Joyous. 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 47 mean?
- A lake with no water: exhaustion, confinement, and the strength of character that carries a person through. Water below, lake above: the water has drained out of the lake, leaving it dry. Oppression describes exhaustion, the state of being hemmed in and drained, the tree in the enclosure. The tradition's judgement is remarkable for its confidence: success, persistence, the great person brings good fortune, no blame. And then: when one has something to say, it is not believed. The reading says the situation is oppressive and that the way through is not argument, which no one will hear, but character: the wise person stakes their life on following their will. What cannot be changed outside is met by what cannot be broken inside.
- What does Hexagram 47 mean for love?
- A drained, hemmed-in stretch, and a time when explaining yourself does not work because words are not believed. Do not argue. Hold your integrity and wait. The lines say oppression is survived by what a person is, not by what they say.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 47 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 58, The Joyous; line 2 gives Hexagram 45, Gathering Together; line 3 gives Hexagram 28, Great Excess; line 4 gives Hexagram 29, The Abysmal; line 5 gives Hexagram 40, Deliverance; line 6 gives Hexagram 6, Conflict. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 22, Grace.