Hexagram 52 of 64
艮 gèn
Keeping Still
艮 (gèn, Mountain) above · 艮 (gèn, Mountain) below
The Judgment 卦辞
Stop — not frozen, but in the right place. Each part resting where it belongs: the back straight and still, you forget the body and see the whole.
The Image 大象
Two mountains: keeping still. The wise person does not let thoughts run beyond the situation of the moment.
The six lines 爻辞
Each line of 艮 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
Stillness begins in the toes — stop before you take the wrong step. No blame; hold it long.
「艮其趾，无咎，利永贞」
Line 2 · 六二
The calf held still against its nature to follow — the heart is uneasy. Stillness forced is not stillness.
「艮其腓，不拯其随，其心不快」
Line 3 · 九三
Stillness gripping the waist — the spine splits, danger smokes the heart. Rigid division of self.
「艮其限，列其夤，厉薰心」
Line 4 · 六四
The trunk held still — the whole self at rest. No blame.
「艮其身，无咎」
Line 5 · 六五
The jaw at rest: words in their order. Measured speech dissolves regret.
「艮其辅，言有序，悔亡」
Line 6 · 上九
Stillness solid to the very top — the deepest rest. Good fortune.
「敦艮，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: 艮 (Mountain) above — keeping still — restraint, meditation, knowing when to stop — over 艮 (Mountain) below — keeping still — restraint, meditation, knowing when to stop. Where those two energies meet, 艮 is born.
Ask Bu Gua — cast the coins for your question →