I Ching Oracle / Hexagrams / 48
The Judgement
The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. If one gets down almost to the water and the rope does not go all the way, or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.
The source never fails; what matters is whether you draw from it.
The Image
Water over wood; the noble one encourages the people at their work, and exhorts them to help one another.
This hexagram on ten matters
- WorkCAREER
- The source never fails; what matters is whether you draw from it. The town may change, the well cannot — the resource is there; the question is whether you go to it.
- LoveRELATIONSHIP
- Quality depends on upkeep. The well is cleaned but no one drinks: that is the regret in this hexagram.
- MoneyFINANCE
- A stable income source that needs maintaining. The jug breaks and it brings misfortune — carelessness at the last step undoes everything.
- HealthBODY
- A clear cold spring from which one can drink. A good image: water, sleep, food. Maintain the well and the body has something to draw on.
- StudyLEARNING
- Knowledge is that well. The well is being lined, no blame — periodically repairing your existing foundation beats digging new wells.
- An examEXAM
- It tests fundamentals. With a solid base you perform steadily; do not switch methods just before the exam.
- PeopleSOCIAL
- Encourage the people at their work and to help one another. You have more to give than you think.
- A choiceDECISION
- Maintain what exists rather than starting fresh. The well does not change; the town does.
- TravelJOURNEY
- Feasible, but this hexagram favours depth where you are over distance.
- A lost itemLOST ITEM
- In a fixed, deep storage place — the back of a drawer, the bottom of a cupboard. It has been there all along; you did not look deep enough.
The Six Lines
One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.
One does not drink the mud of the well; no animals come to an old well. Abandoned too long — even the birds have stopped coming.
At the well hole one shoots fishes. The jug is broken and leaks.
At the well hole one shoots fishes; the jug is broken and leaks. The waste is this: resources exist, and they are spent on nothing.
The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my heart's sorrow, for one might draw from it.
The well is cleaned but no one drinks; this is my heart's sorrow. One might draw from it — if the king were clear-minded, all would receive blessing. The neglect is temporary; being seen changes it.
The well is being lined. No blame.
The well is being lined; no blame. No output, but the foundation work is done, and later it is what gets used.
In the well there is a clear, cold spring from which one can drink.
In the well there is a clear, cold spring from which one can drink. The best line here: the quality is there, and people come of themselves.
One draws from the well without hindrance. It is dependable. Supreme good fortune.
One draws from the well without hindrance; it is dependable, supreme good fortune. Drawn up and left uncovered. The completion: what is good must be left open for others to take.
The governing line
Nuclear · Opposite · Reverse
The nuclear hexagram shows the middle stretch of the matter; the opposite is the same situation seen from the reverse position; the reverse is the view from the other party's side.