← The I Ching
Hexagram 47 · ☱ over ☵
Oppression
Kun
The judgment
Exhaustion and constriction — the lake drained of water, outer conditions genuinely unfavourable. The person of substance holds to what they know to be true even when no one is listening and even when words are not heard. This is a time of inner endurance, not outer advance.
The image. Lake above water — the outer form standing without its sustaining substance.
Guidance
Maintain your centre under pressure; don't speak too much when words won't land. Endure with steadiness — the oppression won't last, and what you preserve will be what you have to offer when it lifts.
How it’s built
Every hexagram is two trigrams — the lower one beneath the upper. This one is Kǎn below Duì.
☱Upper · Lakethe Joyous — pleasure, openness, the youngest daughter
☵Lower · Waterthe Abysmal — danger, the deep, flow through hardship, the middle son