← The I Ching
Hexagram 4 · ☶ over ☵
Youthful Folly
Meng
The judgment
This hexagram speaks to inexperience — your own or another's — and the wisdom of acknowledging it honestly. A student who keeps asking the same question after a clear answer has been given learns nothing; the oracle answers once, and then action is required.
The image. Mountain above water — stillness above the hidden, seeking spring.
Guidance
Acknowledge what you don't yet know and commit to finding a good teacher. Ask once, listen carefully, and then move on what you heard without demanding more answers.
How it’s built
Every hexagram is two trigrams — the lower one beneath the upper. This one is Kǎn below Gèn.
☶Upper · MountainKeeping Still — stillness, limits, meditation, the youngest son
☵Lower · Waterthe Abysmal — danger, the deep, flow through hardship, the middle son