Hexagram 29 of 64
坎 kǎn
The Abysmal · Water
坎 (kǎn, Water) above · 坎 (kǎn, Water) below
The Judgment 卦辞
Pit after pit — danger repeated. Keep your heart steady and flow like water: fill each hole, follow the channel, and do not lose yourself in the dark.
The Image 大象
Water flows on and on, filling every depth: the abysmal. The wise person walks in lasting virtue and teaches through practice, mastering difficulty.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 坎 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
Falling into the pit within the pit. Going deeper into danger — misfortune.
「习坎，入于坎窞，凶」
Line 2 · 九二
Danger all around — aim for small gains only. Modest wins are the way through.
「坎有险，求小得」
Line 3 · 六三
Danger coming and going, hard ground for a pillow. Do not act from inside the pit.
「来之坎坎，险且枕，入于坎窞，勿用」
Line 4 · 六四
A flask of wine, two bowls, a plain earthenware cup — offered through the window. Simplicity and sincerity reach where force cannot.
「樽酒簋贰，用缶，纳约自牖，终无咎」
Line 5 · 九五
The pit not yet full, the water settling toward level. Peace comes as the danger fills — no blame.
「坎不盈，祗既平，无咎」
Line 6 · 上六
Bound with cords, thrown among thorns — three years without release. What repeated warnings could not fix.
「系用徽纆，置于丛棘，三岁不得，凶」
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: 坎 (Water) above — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty — over 坎 (Water) below — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty. Where those two energies meet, 坎 is born.
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