Hexagram 48
The Well
Water over Wind
The judgment
改邑不改井，无丧无得，往来井井。汔至亦未繘井。羸其瓶，凶Wood draws water up and the shaft stays where it is. People move around while it holds its place, so the work is upkeep, and skipping it charges whoever comes next.
The image
The well does not travel and the rope wears where it rubs. A source that is used and not mended fills with silt.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line that moves is read here, and read again in the hexagram it becomes.
- 初六Line 1
井泥不食，旧井无禽
The well floor is all silt, the water too murky to drink. It has sat unused so long the walls have caved and the water dropped; even passing birds no longer come down to it.
- 九二Line 2
井谷射鲋，瓮敝漏
Holding the middle yet channeling water toward small fish, the vessel already leaks and effort drains through the cracks.
- 九三Line 3
井渫不食，为我心恻，可用汲，王明，并受其福
The well has been cleaned, its clear water sitting there with no one drawing from it, and it chills the heart. That water could be hauled up and drunk; if the one above sees clearly and takes it, the whole well can refresh everyone.
- 六四Line 4
井甃，无咎
Close to the seat of power, lining the well walls first; plugging the seeps is quiet work that decides whether water can be held.
Marked in the textno blame
- 九五Line 5
井冽，寒泉食
At this depth the well runs clear and cold; anyone who comes can draw and drink.
- 上六Line 6
井收勿幕，有孚元吉
The well mouth is finished but left uncovered, open to all who come; at the very end the door stays wide instead of shut.
Marked in the textauspicious
Where each changing line leads
Flip one line and it is a different hexagram. These are the six it becomes.
This page is for reference. To get a hexagram from six throws, cast your own.
The classical text is the Zhouyi, public domain, checked against a Wikisource transcript. The readings are ours. Daily hexagram