← The I Ching
Hexagram 40 · ☳ over ☵
Deliverance
Xie
The judgment
The release of what was pent up — thunder breaks over water and the tension dissolves. After genuine difficulty, a return to ease. This is the moment to resolve what can be resolved and forgive what can be forgiven, then move on without burdening yourself with what is now finished.
The image. Thunder moves above the water — release breaking over what was long held under pressure.
Guidance
Release what has been resolved and let it go. Move lightly forward; don't carry the difficulty past its useful lesson. Forgiveness — including of yourself — is part of the deliverance.
How it’s built
Every hexagram is two trigrams — the lower one beneath the upper. This one is Kǎn below Zhèn.
☳Upper · Thunderthe Arousing — movement, shock, a sudden beginning, the eldest son
☵Lower · Waterthe Abysmal — danger, the deep, flow through hardship, the middle son