Hexagram 48 of 64
井 jǐng
The Well
坎 (kǎn, Water) above · 巽 (xùn, Wind) below
The Judgment 卦辞
A town may move, but the well cannot — it nourishes everyone and belongs to no scheme. Be the well: constant, deep, available. Fix what is broken around the source.
The Image 大象
Water over wood: the well. The wise person encourages the people to help one another.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 井 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
The well silted up, unused — even birds pass it by. A source neglected.
「井泥不食，旧井无禽」
Line 2 · 九二
Well water leaking into a gully, minnows in the cracked jug. Talent dripping away sideways.
「井谷射鲋，瓮敝漏」
Line 3 · 九三
The well is cleaned, yet still no one drinks — it aches. Draw from it: when the ruler sees clearly, all share the blessing.
「井渫不食，为我心恻，可用汲，王明，并受其福」
Line 4 · 六四
The well lined with brick. Quiet repair of the source — no blame.
「井甃，无咎」
Line 5 · 九五
The well clear and cold, spring water to drink. A source made pure again.
「井冽，寒泉食」
Line 6 · 上六
Draw freely and leave the well uncovered — shared, trusted. Supreme good fortune.
「井收勿幕，有孚元吉」
If you drew this in a reading
A pattern of tension and craft. This hexagram belongs to the large middle family of mixed patterns: it works, but only along its own grain. Read the Judgment closely — mixed hexagrams usually name the exact condition on which their promise depends.
In yes/no questions this hexagram reads as “not yet clear” — the answer hinges on timing and execution.
The trigrams give the flavor: 坎 (Water) above — the abysmal — depth, danger, flow through difficulty — over 巽 (Wind) below — gentle penetration — gradual influence, flexibility, patience. Where those two energies meet, 井 is born.
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