I Ching Oracle / Hexagrams / 60
The Judgement
Success. Galling limitation must not be persevered in.
Limits bring freedom — but limits that torment cannot last.
The Image
Water over lake; the noble one creates number and measure, and examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
This hexagram on ten matters
- WorkCAREER
- Limitation brings good fortune; galling limitation cannot last. Create number and measure — set yourself an amount you can actually sustain.
- LoveRELATIONSHIP
- The relationship needs boundaries. Not going out of the door and courtyard is without blame: measured reserve is healthy, not distant.
- MoneyFINANCE
- Live within your means. Sweet limitation brings good fortune, galling limitation brings misfortune — limits you can accept, you can keep. Limits that crush you, you cannot.
- HealthBODY
- The most apt hexagram here. Food, sleep and exercise all want a defined quantity. But galling limitation warns that extreme discipline rebounds.
- StudyLEARNING
- Set a quantity, not a resolution. A fixed daily portion beats occasional heroics by far.
- An examEXAM
- Ration your time in the exam. Set a time limit per question by its mark value and move on when it is reached; galling limitation — clinging to one question is the most common way to lose marks.
- PeopleSOCIAL
- Speak with restraint. Not going out of the gate brings misfortune — never going out is also wrong. The measure is in between.
- A choiceDECISION
- Set the terms and limits before deciding. An open-ended commitment is misfortune in this hexagram.
- TravelJOURNEY
- Feasible, but keep the itinerary measured. Do not overfill it.
- A lost itemLOST ITEM
- In an ordered, compartmentalised storage place. Look according to your usual organising habits.
The Six Lines
Not going out of the door and the courtyard is without blame.
Not going out of the door and courtyard; no blame. Deliberate restraint: knowing when not to move is itself blameless.
Not going out of the gate and the courtyard brings misfortune.
Not going out of the gate and courtyard; misfortune. The same act, and here it is misfortune — because the moment to go out was missed.
He who knows no limitation will have cause to lament. No blame.
He who knows no limitation will have cause to lament. No blame. The margin: admitting it leaves time to correct.
Contented limitation. Success.
Contented limitation; success. The limit has been internalised and no longer feels imposed.
Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem.
Sweet limitation; good fortune. Going brings esteem. The best line here, because you agree with the limit yourself.
Galling limitation. Perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears.
Galling limitation; perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears. The misfortune is excess, and changing it leaves nothing to regret.
The governing line
Nuclear · Opposite · Reverse
The nuclear hexagram shows the middle stretch of the matter; the opposite is the same situation seen from the reverse position; the reverse is the view from the other party's side.