Hexagram 39 of 64
蹇 jiǎn
Obstruction
坎 (kǎn, Water) above · 艮 (gèn, Mountain) below
The Judgment 卦辞
The road is blocked before you and the water ahead. Turn back, gather allies, and work on yourself. Obstruction met wisely becomes a forge for character.
The Image 大象
Water on the mountain: obstruction. The wise person turns inward and cultivates their own virtue.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 蹇 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
Going ahead meets obstruction; coming back wins praise. Retreat is the right move.
「往蹇，来誉」
Line 2 · 六二
The king's servant, obstruction after obstruction — for the cause, not for himself.
「王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故」
Line 3 · 九三
Going meets obstruction; return brings your own people back around.
「往蹇来反」
Line 4 · 六四
Going meets obstruction; coming back joins you with allies.
「往蹇来连」
Line 5 · 九五
Obstruction at its greatest — and friends arrive. Trouble calls in the loyal.
「大蹇朋来」
Line 6 · 上六
Going meets obstruction; returning brings greatness. Good fortune — seek the great person now.
「往蹇来硕，吉，利见大人」
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 艮 (Mountain) below — keeping still — restraint, meditation, knowing when to stop. Where those two energies meet, 蹇 is born.
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