Hexagram 52 for love and relationships: Keeping Still

艮 Gèn · Love & relationships

Be still. Do not act, do not push, do not run thoughts ahead to what might happen. The reading favours calm presence over any gesture. Some of the lines describe stillness forced on someone too early; the whole describes stillness chosen, which is what is asked here.

Mountain below, mountain above: stillness upon stillness. Keeping Still is the hexagram of rest, of the pause between movements, of the mind that has stopped chasing itself. The tradition's judgement is an image of meditation: keeping the back still so that the body is no longer felt, going into the courtyard and not seeing the people there, without blame. Stillness of this kind is not withdrawal from life; the image says the wise person does not let their thoughts go beyond the situation. The reading says the moment asks for stopping, for full attention to what is here, and for restraint of the impulse to move. Every line is a part of the body coming to rest.

Advice: Stop; keep the mind within the present situation and let the body rest.
Warning: Stillness forced on the body while the mind races, or imposed on someone not ready for it, is not rest but strain.

The changing lines, read for love and relationships

If your cast of Hexagram 52 had changing lines, these are what each one adds to a love question, and where each leads.

Line 1 · changes into 22 Grace
Keeping the toes still. No blame. Continued persistence furthers. Stop before you start; it is the easiest place to stop.
Line 2 · changes into 18 Work on What Has Been Spoiled
Keeping the calves still. Cannot rescue the one he follows. His heart is not glad. If you must stop because your leader is wrong, accept it; you cannot save them by moving.
Line 3 · changes into 23 Splitting Apart
Keeping the hips still. Making the sacrum stiff. Dangerous; the heart suffocates. Do not force the stillness; rigidity is not rest.
Line 4 · changes into 56 The Wanderer
Keeping the trunk still. No blame. Let the body rest even if the mind is not entirely still; that is progress.
Line 5 · changes into 53 Development
Keeping the jaws still. The words have order. Remorse disappears. Govern your speech; say what is in order and no more.
Line 6 · changes into 15 Modesty
Noble-hearted keeping still. Good fortune. Rest completely; the stillness is yours now.

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