Hexagram 48 changing to 29: The Well to The Abysmal

Where it starts: 48 The Well

The well that does not move while the town changes around it: the inexhaustible source, and the care it needs to reach. Wind below, water above: wood reaching down into water, the pole and bucket drawing from the well. The Well is the hexagram of the source: what nourishes everyone, stays where it is, and can be neither increased nor diminished. The tradition's judgement is that the town may be moved but the well cannot, that it neither decreases nor increases, and that if the rope is too short or the jug breaks, there is misfortune. The source is constant; the reaching is the difficulty. The reading says there is something deep and reliable here, in a person, a tradition, a practice, and asks whether you are drawing from it properly, with a clean well, a long enough rope and an unbroken jug.

Where it goes: 29 The Abysmal

Danger repeated, as water in a ravine: the way through is sincerity, and going through rather than around. Water below, water above: the same trigram doubled, a gorge within a gorge. The Abysmal is the hexagram of danger, and it is not a warning to avoid it. Water does not avoid the ravine; it flows into it, fills every hollow, and moves on. The tradition's judgement says that with sincerity there is success in the heart, and that action brings esteem. The reading describes a situation that is difficult, possibly for a while, and it says the way through is to be like water: honest about the depth, undramatic, consistent, and unwilling to stop. Repetition is the teacher here. The danger returns until you have learned to move through it plainly.

The lines that move

1. Line 3

   The well is cleaned but no one drinks from it. This is my heart's sorrow. If the king were clear-minded, good fortune might be enjoyed in common.

   A source made ready and ignored, the ability that is there and unused because no one in authority sees it. The tradition's sorrow is real, and its hope is that clear-sightedness above would benefit everyone. If the well is clean and unused, the fault is with those who will not drink; keep it clean regardless.

What is changing. The situation of The Well is moving toward The Abysmal. Keep the well clean and the rope long; the source is constant, the access is your work. As the change completes: Be like water: honest about the depth, consistent, and willing to go through rather than around.

love and relationships

Now: There is a deep source here, in the relationship or in one of you, and the question is whether it is being reached. Clean the well: clear the mud of old grievances. Lengthen the rope: give the time and attention it takes to draw. The source is not the problem. Then: A hard stretch, and possibly a repeated one. The reading does not promise it ends soon. It says that sincerity, meaning saying what is true and staying, is what carries a relationship through the ravine. Avoiding the difficulty is what deepens it.

career

Now: Something reliable and nourishing at the centre of the work, or of you. The reading asks you to maintain access to it: keep skills clear, keep the means of drawing on knowledge in good repair, and share the water. A well no one drinks from is the waste the lines describe. Then: Real difficulty, perhaps the same difficulty returning. Do not seek a way around it; work through it steadily and honestly, one hollow at a time. Consistency under pressure is what earns esteem here.

money

Now: A steady source of income or value that does not fluctuate with the news. Maintain it, do not neglect it for something showier, and make sure the means of drawing on it are sound. The jug must not break at the top. Then: Risk and constraint. Do not take on more; move through what is already there with discipline and truthfulness. The reading warns against clever escapes and rewards steady, honest handling.

decisions

Now: Choose the option that keeps you connected to a constant source rather than the one that moves the town. Ask whether your rope is long enough and your jug whole before you decide you are at a dry well. Then: Not a moment for the bold or the evasive option. Choose the one that goes straight through the difficulty with honesty and can be sustained. Expect to pass this way more than once.