| Name | 坎 Kǎn, “The Abysmal” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☵ 坎 Water: danger and depth |
| Lower trigram | ☵ 坎 Water: danger and depth |
The Judgment
有孚，维心亨，行有尚。
Repeating danger. With sincerity, the heart finds success. Action brings reward.
Pit after pit. The only way through is staying real with yourself. The danger is the path, not a detour around it.
The Image
水洊至，习坎；君子以常德行，习教事。
Water flows ceaselessly onward — The Abysmal repeated. The wise practice steady virtue and teach by repetition.
Like water finding the same way down again and again. Consistency through the rough — that's the only path.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yin
习坎，入于坎窞，凶。
Repeated danger. In the pit, falling into the pit. Misfortune.
Hit a hole, fell into a deeper one. Stop digging. Look up before moving again.
Line 2 · second · Yang
坎有险，求小得。
The pit has danger. Seek to attain only the small.
Crisis mode — don't aim for big wins. Tiny progress is the whole goal.
Line 3 · third · Yin
来之坎坎，险且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。
Coming and going — pit upon pit. Resting in the deep. Do not act.
Surrounded by trouble. The move is no move. Stay still, let it pass.
Line 4 · fourth · Yin
樽酒簋贰，用缶，纳约自牖，终无咎。
A jug of wine, a bowl of rice, simple earthen vessels. Take the simple offering through the window. In the end — no blame.
Strip everything back to essentials. Honest, simple, unpretentious — that's what gets through.
Line 5 · fifth · Yang
坎不盈，祗既平，无咎。
The pit is not yet full. It is only filled to the rim. No blame.
Almost out, not quite. Don't celebrate yet — but also don't despair. You're close.
Line 6 · top · Yin
系用徽纆，寘于丛棘，三岁不得，凶。
Bound with ropes and cords, locked between thorn-hedged prison walls. For three years — no attainment. Misfortune.
Locked in by your own choices for a long time. The release requires real change, not a clever exit.
Related hexagrams
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 30, The Clinging