Hexagram 39: Obstruction水山蹇 · Jiǎn

• Upper trigram　Kǎn, Water: danger, flow and keeping faith through difficulty.
• Lower trigram　Gèn, Mountain: stillness, steadiness and stopping at the right time.

The Judgment

The southwest furthers; the northeast does not. It furthers to see a wise person. Perseverance brings good fortune.

利西南，不利東北。利見大人，貞吉。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Dangerous water ahead and a high mountain behind: a hard road. Today suits stopping to review your approach and seeking help from someone experienced, rather than forcing your way through.

Something to do today

• For something that is stuck, ask an experienced person what they think.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.