Hexagram 52
Keeping Still
Mountain over Mountain
The judgment
艮其背，不获其身，行其庭，不见其人，无咎One mountain rests on another and neither moves to meet you. Stopping works at a joint; a halt halfway through a step costs the whole move.
The image
Two mountains stand one on the other and the line between them does not blur. Stillness is a position with edges.
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
艮其趾，无咎，利永贞
Stopping at the toes, before strength has grown—halt here and pay the least.
Marked in the textno blame
- 六二Line 2
艮其腓，不拯其随，其心不快
The calf is held but cannot move what is above it; the discomfort stalls halfway.
- 九三Line 3
艮其限，裂其夤，厉阍心
The waist is jammed, torn between above and below, neither advancing nor retreating works.
Marked in the textdanger
- 六四Line 4
艮其身，无咎
Holding the whole body still near the seat of power, the fear is absorbed without reaching out.
Marked in the textno blame
- 六五Line 5
艮其辅，言有孚，悔亡
Guarding the mouth, words land with weight, and the regret of this position slowly fades.
Marked in the textregret clears
- 上九Line 6
敦艮，吉
At the very end, still stopping firmly, not using the momentum to take one more step.
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