39 story

The image of hexagram 39
Jiăn Limping

Hexagram 39 has trigram Gèn, Mountain, below or inside, Kăn, Water, above or outside. Kăn is undefined, nothing is certain - except its unstoppable moving. Gèn is all things tangible and 'present'.

What does it mean, 'inner' and 'outer trigram' (popup)

When trigram Mountain is below (popup)

When trigram Water is above (popup)

Gèn below Kăn: they are a difficult combination. One solid and still, the other without a form of its own and constantly on the move. Water needs movement or it will become stale. When Kăn represents a pit, it is even more of a problem. To solve this, you will need a creative mind, because you have to figure it all out from scratch. It is a challenge, but very often a creative one.

The old diviners gave this combination of trigrams a name: Jiăn. It means: 'cold feet'. It is difficult to move. Not only physically, but also mentally, the mind is hindered as well. But Gèn inside can direct the water, Gèn offers the boulders and crevices to hold it back to find solutions or speed it along on its way.

Ideogram of the hexagram name: A person upside down in a hut with straw or kindling. The upper part means 'cold' or 'plug', the bottom 'foot': cold feet. Meanings: lameness, cripple, slow action, bad horse or lame donkey, hard, hardship, distress, unlucky, not smooth, not fluent, stagnation, block.

The 'Great Image' says: There is water on top of the mountain: limping. The noble one reverses his being to cultivate virtue.

  Hex.39 is the contrast of 38, which is about social skills, figuring out when to trust and when to distrust.
  Hex.39 is about tackling problems on your own.
  Hex.39 is the reverse of hex.4, water below the mountain. In 4 the inside has no form yet, but has to tackle a tough outside. In 39 the inside is tough and defined and has to tackle a formless, maybe dangerous, outside.

  Story:
  Water on top of a mountain - it starts to go down, in any way it can find. Cascading down precipices or meandering through the grass, rushing among rocks or filling gaps before it can go on. Many little streams even disappear, they follow cracks in the rocks and show up at the foot of the mountain as springs.
  Life is seldom an easy road, it is rather like this little stream. Obstructions everywhere. If you can handle them like the little stream does, your life or ventures will be an adventurous beautiful voyage. When you reach the valley and you look back at the big mountain you conquered, you will know your value, even when you often despaired.
  The meaning of life is living it.

The image of hexagram 39Jiăn Limping

The image of hexagram 39
Jiăn Limping