坎
“Gorge” — King Wen #29
Repeated danger, gorge upon gorge. The heart must stay steady and true through the deep water.
The Judgment 卦辞
有孚，維心亨。行有尚。
Kan, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind is. penetrating. Action (in accordance with this) will be of high value.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
習坎，入于坎窞，凶。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject in the double defile, and (yet) entering a cavern within it. There will be evil.
坎有險，求小得。
The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject in all the peril of the defile. He will, however, get a little (of the deliverance) that he seeks.
來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes ( =descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case).
樽酒，簋貳，用缶，納約自牖，終無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject (at a feast), with (simply) a bottle of spirits, and a subsidiary basket of rice, while (the cups and bowls) are (only) of earthenware. He introduces his important lessons (as his ruler's) intelligence admits. There will in the end be no error.
坎不盈，祗既平，無咎。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows the water of the defile not yet full, (so that it might flow away); but order will (soon) be brought about. There will be no error.
係用徽纆，寘于叢棘，三歲不得，凶。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject bound with cords of three strands or two strands, and placed in the thicket of thorns. But in three years he does not learn the course for him to pursue. There will be evil.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 29 places water (坎) beneath water (坎) —water finding its way through hard gaps below, water finding its way through hard gaps above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Gorge”:repeated danger, gorge upon gorge. The heart must stay steady and true through the deep water Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 29
What does 坎 (kǎn) mean?
Hexagram 29 of the I Ching is named 坎 (kǎn), usually rendered "Gorge" in English editions. Its figure pairs water (坎) below with water (坎) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 29?
坎 (Water) sits above and 坎 (Water) sits below — the classical picture is water finding its way through hard gaps beneath water finding its way through hard gaps.
How is hexagram 29 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 29 gives hexagram 30 — 離 (Radiance). Turned upside down, the figure is itself — one of the four symmetrical hexagrams. Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 27 — 頤 (Swallowing).
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.