Hexagram 47 · Oppression
Kun
Upper Lake (Dui) · Lower Water (Kan)
Judgment
Exhaustion. Success. Perseverance brings good fortune to the great person. No blame. But words are not believed.
Lines
- First line (1): The buttocks are trapped by a bare tree. One enters a dark valley and sees nothing for three years.
- Second line (2): Trapped by food and drink. The scarlet knee-covers are just arriving. It is favorable to offer sacrifices. Setting forth brings misfortune, but there is no blame.
- Third line (3): Trapped by a rock. Leaning on thorns. Entering one's own house, one does not see one's wife. Misfortune.
- Fourth line (4): Coming slowly, trapped in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but there is a good ending.
- Fifth line (5): Nose cut off, feet cut off. Trapped by the scarlet knee-covers. Then gradually there is release. It is favorable to perform sacrifices.
- Top line (6): Trapped by creeping vines, in a precarious position. If one says, 'Movement brings regret,' and then acts, there is good fortune.
In Practice
Oppression shows a lake drained beneath an empty height: water below, exhausted, with nothing above to replenish it. It is the hexagram of exhaustion, confinement, and the time when a person's strength is used up and their words are not believed. Its counsel is stark and noble: when outward circumstances exhaust and confine you, keep your inner spirit unbroken. Speak little, for words will not be trusted; act from an inner certainty that no external hardship can touch. The teaching is that oppression breaks the body's resources but need not break the heart.
In love
A hard, exhausting season in the relationship — drained, misunderstood, your words falling on deaf ears. Speak less, and do not exhaust yourself trying to be heard. Hold to your inner integrity and endure. The oppression will pass, and you want to pass through it unbroken.
In career
You are exhausted and confined — your efforts unrecognized, your voice not trusted. Do not spend your last strength arguing. Keep your integrity, do what must be done quietly, and endure. The season of oppression is real, and it is not permanent.
In money
A period of financial strain and confinement — resources drained, options limited. Do not panic or overspend to escape. Conserve, endure, and hold to your principles. The strain will pass, and disciplined endurance is what carries you through it.
Guidance
When you are exhausted and confined, and your words are not believed, keep your inner spirit unbroken. Speak little, act from certainty, and endure. Oppression can drain the body, but not the heart that refuses to break.
Watch out
Do not waste your remaining strength demanding to be heard, nor let hardship convince you that your spirit is defeated. Endure with your inner certainty intact, and the season will turn.
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