Hexagram 40
Deliverance
解
Upper
Thunder · 震
the arousing, movement
Lower
Water · 坎
the abysmal, danger
Contemporary judgment
Deliverance. The tension breaks, the storm passes, the air is washed clean. What has been held in suspense is released. Do not waste this fresh moment on old grievances or postmortems. Return promptly to ordinary life and ordinary work; build something new on the cleared ground.
Image
Thunder and rain, the storm passing. The superior person forgives mistakes and pardons offenses.
Counsel
Release what no longer needs holding. Forgive: not for the other's sake, but so you can carry less going forward. Do not linger in the post-crisis analysis for its own sake. The cleared air is brief; move into it with gratitude and begin the next chapter.
The six lines
Numbered from the bottom upward; displayed here from first to sixth.
Line 1
A six at the beginning means: No blame.
Line 2
A nine in the second place means: In the field one bags three foxes and receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 3
A six in the third place means: If one carries a burden on one's back and yet rides on the wagon, one thereby causes robbers to come near. Perseverance leads to humiliation.
Line 4
A nine in the fourth place means: Free yourself from your big toe. Then the companion comes, and him you can trust.
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means: If the noble one can only free themself, that brings good fortune. They thus show the petty that they are in earnest.
Line 6
A six at the top means: The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He brings it down. Everything is furthering.
Contemporary sections are original app interpretations. Line text comes from the CC0 translation in jesshewitt/i-ching.