Hexagram 15
Modesty
謙
Upper
Earth · 坤
the receptive, yielding
Lower
Mountain · 艮
keeping still
Contemporary judgment
Modesty. A true quality of the inner person, not a posture for others. What is greatest works from below; the mountain beneath the earth is deeper than the one above it. Modesty here is not self-deprecation: it is the quiet confidence of those who do not need recognition to know their worth.
Image
Mountain within the earth. The superior person reduces what is excessive and increases what is insufficient, weighing all things and making them equal.
Counsel
Let your work speak. Decline the temptation to announce yourself, and decline equally the temptation to shrink from your own contribution. Serve where you can, retreat when your part is finished. This unforced balance draws others and draws the good to you.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A six at the beginning means: A modestly modest noble one may cross the great water. Good fortune!
Line 2
A six in the second place means: Modesty that comes to expression. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 3
A nine in the third place means: A meritorious and modest noble one brings to completion. Good fortune!
Line 4
A six in the fourth place means: Nothing that would not further modesty in movement.
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means: Do not rely on wealth before one's neighbor. It is favorable to attack with force. Nothing that would not further.
Line 6
A six at the top means: Modesty that comes to expression. It is favorable to set armies marching to chastise one's own city and one's own country.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.