# Hexagram 53: Development Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/53 Last updated: 2026-10-07 ``` ━━━━━━━ ━━━━━━━ ━━━ ━━━ ━━━━━━━ ━━━ ━━━ ━━━ ━━━ ``` - **Upper trigram:** [Xun 巽](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/xun), Wind, the gentle, penetrating - **Lower trigram:** [Gen 艮](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/gen), Mountain, keeping still - **Lines, bottom to top:** 001011 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin) ## Contemporary judgment Gradual development. Advance by stages, unforced, unhurried. What grows slowly grows deeply; the tree that takes root on the mountain withstands every storm because it did not rush its rooting. Do not be swayed by those urging faster progress. ## Image Wood on the mountain. The superior person abides in dignity and virtue and so improves the customs around them. ## Counsel Keep to the correct pace, even if it looks slow from the outside. Do not skip stages; each one prepares the next. The proper forms of the situation, the how of doing things, matter as much as the content. Your quiet steadiness becomes an influence that needs no announcement. ## The six lines *Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.* ### Line 1 > A six at the beginning means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the shore. > The young son is in danger. > There is talk. No blame. ### Line 2 > A six in the second place means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the rock. > Eating and drinking in peace and concord. Good fortune! ### Line 3 > A nine in the third place means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the plateau. > The man goes forth and does not return. > The woman carries a child, but does not bring it to the world. > Misfortune! > It is favorable to ward off robbers. ### Line 4 > A six in the fourth place means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the tree. > Perhaps she gets a flat branch. No blame. ### Line 5 > A nine in the fifth place means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the summit. > The woman for three years gets no child. > Finally nothing can prevent it. Good fortune! ### Line 6 > A nine at the top means: > The wild goose gradually draws near the cloud heights. > Her feathers can be used for the holy dance. > Good fortune! ## Related hexagrams - **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [64 Before Completion](https://thefreeiching.com/library/64) - **Inverse (turned upside down):** [54 The Marrying Maiden](https://thefreeiching.com/library/54) - **Opposite (every line flipped):** [54 The Marrying Maiden](https://thefreeiching.com/library/54) ## If one line changes | Changing line | Relating hexagram | | --- | --- | | Line 1 | [37 The Family](https://thefreeiching.com/library/37) | | Line 2 | [57 The Gentle](https://thefreeiching.com/library/57) | | Line 3 | [20 Contemplation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/20) | | Line 4 | [33 Retreat](https://thefreeiching.com/library/33) | | Line 5 | [52 Keeping Still](https://thefreeiching.com/library/52) | | Line 6 | [39 Obstruction](https://thefreeiching.com/library/39) | Previous: [52 Keeping Still](https://thefreeiching.com/library/52). Next: [54 The Marrying Maiden](https://thefreeiching.com/library/54). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library). *The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.* ## Cite this page The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 53: Development." https://thefreeiching.com/library/53 (updated 2026-10-07). *The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.* --- Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/53). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.