Hexagram 12 of 64
否 pǐ
Standstill
乾 (qián, Heaven) above · 坤 (kūn, Earth) below
The Judgment 卦辞
The great departs and the small arrives. Communication has broken down — nothing you push now will flourish. Withdraw, protect your integrity, and wait for the turn.
The Image 大象
Heaven and earth do not meet: standstill. The wise person withdraws from confusion, refuses glory and riches, and stays true to their path.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 否 has its own classical text. If a line in your cast is changing, its text is the heart of your reading.
Line 1 · 初六
Pulling grass and roots together — hold your own close and steady. Good fortune waits inside the block.
「拔茅茹，以其汇，贞吉亨」
Line 2 · 六二
Bowing and receiving: the small flourish now; the great endure. Do not play their game.
「包承，小人吉，大人否亨」
Line 3 · 六三
Swallowing the shame. You are accepting what you should not.
「包羞」
Line 4 · 九四
Act on mandate, not ambition — no blame, and your circle shares the blessing.
「有命无咎，畴离祉」
Line 5 · 九五
The standstill ends — for those who kept saying "it may collapse, it may collapse." Vigilance tied you to the mulberry root.
「休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，系于苞桑」
Line 6 · 上九
The blockage tips over. First the obstruction, then the joy.
「倾否，先否后喜」
If you drew this in a reading
A demanding pattern. This is one of the demanding patterns. It does not say "doom" — it says "the way through is narrow." Slow down, protect what matters, refuse shortcuts, and let the hexagram teach you the specific discipline it describes.
In yes/no questions this hexagram leans no — the pattern counsels holding back.
The trigrams give the flavor: 乾 (Heaven) above — creative force — initiative, clarity, persistence — over 坤 (Earth) below — receptive devotion — nourishment, patience, carrying others. Where those two energies meet, 否 is born.
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