I Ching hexagram 29
I Ching hexagram 29: The Abyss
坎 kǎn · water above water
Water flowing through pit after pit without stopping: in repeated danger, keep your heart sincere and keep moving like water.
- The judgment
- Hold to good faith, and the heart gets through. Acting this way earns respect.
"Khan, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind is penetrating. Action (in accordance with this) will be of high value."
- What it says to you
- Water above water, pit upon pit: the doubled abyss. This is the hexagram of danger that repeats, the kind where you climb out of one hole into the next. It does not pretend otherwise, and several lines are grim. But the judgment points at the way through. Hold to good faith, and the heart gets through. Look at how water behaves. It fills each hollow and flows on, never refusing the next drop and never losing its nature. So do the next thing, and the next, without panic and without faking a confidence you don't feel. Don't dig deeper by lunging around, as the first and third lines do. The fourth line offers the practical move: a jug of wine, a bowl of rice, plain earthenware passed through the window. Keep things simple and honest, and keep flowing.
Matter by matter
- Love
- A hard stretch. Stay sincere and talk simply and honestly; drama only makes it worse.
- Work
- Repeated setbacks. Keep steady and consistent; don't make big moves while you are in the pit.
- Money
- A risky period. Avoid speculation; protect what you have and wait for the water to level.
- A yes or no question
- Yes, with a condition. Only in good faith and one step at a time; acting this way earns respect.
The six lines of The Abyss
A hexagram is built from the bottom up, so the first line is the lowest. You read a line's text only when your cast made it a moving line.
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Bottom line, broken
Pit upon pit. Falling into a hollow within the pit. Misfortune.
You are in trouble and, by getting used to it or by flailing, sinking deeper. Stop digging. Admit the danger, stay still, and look for real help rather than another clever escape.
-
Second line, solid
In the pit there is danger. Seek small things and you will get them.
You cannot get out of this all at once. Aim small: one step, one improvement, one honest gain. Small aims are within reach, and together they add up to a way out.
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Third line, broken
Coming and going, pit after pit. Perilous, and propped on peril. Falling into the hollow. Do not act.
Every direction leads to another pit, and moving now will only drop you further. Do nothing drastic. Wait it out where you are until a real way opens up in front of you.
-
Fourth line, broken
A jug of wine, a bowl of rice besides, in plain earthen vessels, handed in through the window. In the end, no harm.
In danger, keep it simple and sincere. A modest gesture through an ordinary opening works better than ceremony. Offer what you have, honestly, by whatever door is open. It turns out fine.
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Fifth line, solid
The pit does not overflow; the water rises only until it is level. No harm.
You are almost out. Don't overreach or try to do too much; just let things level off. Enough is enough here, and the danger is about to pass on its own.
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Top line, broken
Bound with black cords, put among the thorn bushes. For three years, no way out. Misfortune.
You are stuck, tied by your own choices, in a prison of thorns. This lasts a while. Use the time to understand how you got here, because that is the only way you will not come back.
About hexagram 29
What does I Ching hexagram 29 mean?
Hexagram 29, The Abyss, doubles the trigram for water. Water flowing through pit after pit without stopping: in repeated danger, keep your heart sincere and keep moving like water. Its judgment reads: Hold to good faith, and the heart gets through. Acting this way earns respect.
Is hexagram 29 a yes or a no?
Yes, with a condition. Only in good faith and one step at a time; acting this way earns respect.
What does hexagram 29 mean for love?
A hard stretch. Stay sincere and talk simply and honestly; drama only makes it worse.
What does hexagram 29 mean for work?
Repeated setbacks. Keep steady and consistent; don't make big moves while you are in the pit.
Cast the coins for a new question , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks
The I Ching reads a moment. For the years of your own life, cast your birth chart; on your chart page you can ask three questions of your own, answered against it, for $2.99.
The judgment and lines are rendered from the Chinese text; the quoted judgment is Legge's 1882 translation, and every other English line is Jade Almanac's own. A cast is a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.