I Ching hexagram 20
Hexagram 20: Guan
Contemplation · 風地觀 · Wind above, Earth below
Careful looking comes before action, and the way you carry yourself is looked at in turn.
What this hexagram is about
Before acting, you are watching something closely, and others are watching you too. Guan (Contemplation) follows the look from a child's shallow glance to a ruler checking their own record.
A way to think about it
What are you looking at in your situation, and what are you missing because you stand too close or too far away? Look at your own part in it as well.
The text, with Legge's translation
Judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;--with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
Hands are washed for the ritual and the offering is not yet set out. That moment of full sincerity and solemn expectation is what others look up to.
Image
風行地上，觀；先王以省方，觀民設教。
(The trigram representing) the earth, and that for wind moving above it, form Kwan. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, examined the (different) regions (of the kingdom), to see the (ways of the) people, and set forth their instructions.
Line 1 · 初六
童觀，小人无咎，君子吝。
The first line, divided, shows the looking of a lad;--not blamable in men of inferior rank, but matter for regret in superior men.
You are looking the way a child does, seeing only the surface. That is forgivable in an ordinary person and a cause for regret in someone who is expected to see more.
Line 2 · 六二
窺觀，利女貞。
The second line, divided, shows one peeping out from a door. It would be advantageous if it were (merely) the firm correctness of a female.
Peeking through a narrow gap gives only a partial view. That suits a sheltered, small role and falls short for anyone who is meant to see the whole picture.
Line 3 · 六三
觀我生，進退。
The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly).
Read your own record before deciding whether to push on or step back. Your own way of living, and what it has produced, is the evidence this line points to.
Line 4 · 六四
觀國之光，利用賓于王。
The fourth line, divided, shows one contemplating the glory of the kingdom. It will be advantageous for him, being such as he is, (to seek) to be a guest of the king.
Close enough to see the best a state or organization has to offer, you are well placed to put your own talent to work, as an honored visitor to the ruler.
Line 5 · 九五
觀我生，君子无咎。
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error.
At the top, you read your own conduct in the way the people around you live. If what you see is sound, no one can fault you.
Line 6 · 上九
觀其生，君子无咎。
The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his character to see if it be indeed that of a superior man. He will not fall into error.
You are above the fray now and still keep looking, at how your influence has shaped people and whether your own conduct holds up. A capable person who keeps checking stays free of fault.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi, public domain. English: James Legge, The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882), public domain. Plain notes written by this site.
Questions
I cast hexagram 20. Which text do I read?
With no changing lines, read the judgment: "Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;--with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard)." With changing lines, read the lines that changed. When several change at once, Zhu Xi's rules decide which text leads, and the casting page marks it for you.
What are the nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams of Guan?
The nuclear hexagram is 23. Bo (Stripping Away). The opposite is 34. Da Zhuang (Great Power). The inverted hexagram is 19. Lin (Approach).