I Ching hexagram 40

Hexagram 40: Jie

Release · 雷水解 · Thunder above, Water below

A hard stretch loosens, so you finish any leftover business early and let things return to normal.

What this hexagram is about

Pressure lifts and people can breathe again. Jie (Release) pictures thunder and rain breaking open the sky, and the hexagram advises dealing quickly with whatever is left, then easing up and being generous about past mistakes.

A way to think about it

Is there a tension you are still bracing for after the cause has gone? Settle whatever still needs settling soon, then let yourself and the people around you off the hook.

The text, with Legge's translation

Judgment

利西南，无所往，其來復吉。有攸往，夙吉。

In (the state indicated by) Kieh advantage will be found in the south-west. If no (further) operations be called for, there will be good fortune in coming back (to the old conditions). If some operations be called for, there will be good fortune in the early conducting of them.

Southwest, the open and easy ground, is the direction that helps. If nothing is left to do, returning to ordinary life suits the time, and if something is left, it is best done early.

Image

雷雨作，解；君子以赦過宥罪。

(The trigram representing) thunder and that for rain, with these phenomena in a state of manifestation, form Kieh. The superior man, in accordance with this, forgives errors, and deals gently with crimes.

Line 1 · 初六

无咎。

The first line, divided, shows that its subject will commit no error.

No one can fault you here. With the pressure just easing, a quiet, easy start is enough.

Line 2 · 九二

田獲三狐，得黃矢，貞吉。

The second line, undivided, shows its subject catch, in hunting, three foxes, and obtain the yellow (= golden) arrows. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.

A hunt takes three sly foxes and brings back the yellow arrow, a sign of straight, centered dealing. Steady, correct conduct earns approval here.

Line 3 · 六三

負且乘，致寇至，貞吝。

The third line, divided, shows a porter with his burden, (yet) riding in a carriage. He will (only) tempt robbers to attack him. However firm and correct he may (try to) be, there will be cause for regret.

A porter rides in a carriage, a person in a place that does not suit them, and that invites robbers. Even staying correct leaves a cause for regret.

Line 4 · 九四

解而拇，朋至斯孚。

(To the subject of) the fourth line, undivided, (it is said), 'Remove your toes. Friends will (then) come, between you and whom there will be mutual confidence.'

You shake off a small attachment, the toe at the bottom that has been dragging along behind you. Once it is gone, real friends arrive and trust you.

Line 5 · 六五

君子惟有解，吉；有孚于小人。

The fifth line, divided, shows (its subject), the superior man (= the ruler), executing his function of removing (whatever is injurious to the idea of the hexagram), in which case there will be good fortune, and confidence in him will be shown even by the small men.

When a capable person manages to release the situation, the outlook is good, and even petty people come to trust that person.

Line 6 · 上六

公用射隼，于高墉之上，獲之，无不利。

In the sixth line, divided, we see a feudal prince (with his bow) shooting at a falcon on the top of a high wall, and hitting it. (The effect of his action) will be in every way advantageous.

A lord shoots a hawk perched on a high wall and brings it down. The last stubborn source of trouble is removed, and the text says nothing works against the effort.

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.

  • Nuclear63. Ji Ji (Completion)Built from lines 2 to 5, it shows the process inside the matter. With a goal reached and all in place, the risk is that things slip when you stop watching.
  • Opposite37. Jia Ren (The Household)Every line reversed, it shows the other side of the same matter. A household or close group holds together when each person's role is clear and words and actions match.
  • Inverted39. Jian (Obstruction)The figure turned upside down, it shows the matter seen from the other position. When force cannot clear an obstacle, you stop and look to yourself first, then to others for help.
Cast a reading

Questions

I cast hexagram 40. Which text do I read?

With no changing lines, read the judgment: "In (the state indicated by) Kieh advantage will be found in the south-west. If no (further) operations be called for, there will be good fortune in coming back (to the old conditions). If some operations be called for, there will be good fortune in the early conducting of them." 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 Jie?

The nuclear hexagram is 63. Ji Ji (Completion). The opposite is 37. Jia Ren (The Household). The inverted hexagram is 39. Jian (Obstruction).