Kan, six at the topHexagram 29, line 6 · Kan (The Abyss) · changing to 59
The line
In plain wordsTied up with ropes and thrown into a thicket of thorns, unable to get out for three years. Misfortune.
The Image commentary on this line
上六失道，凶三歲也。
The six at the top has lost the way: misfortune for three years.
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
止Hold back. This text describes a bad outcome. Carry on as you are and you will lose by it. Stop, step aside or change your approach. Do not force it.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You have trapped yourself in a setup that went wrong, bound hand and foot, and there is no getting out for a long time. Stop struggling inside it. Admit the road was the wrong one, stop, and find a way to leave.
- Love
- This entanglement is like being tied up and thrown into a thornbush: the more you struggle, the more it hurts, and it won't come loose for a long time. Stop tugging at it the old way. Admit you took the wrong road, and let go if it is time to let go.
- Money
- Your money is stuck in something that went wrong; however you struggle, it won't come free, and you won't get it back any time soon. Don't put more in, and don't ask anyone to take crooked routes to fish it out. Accept this one and stop the losses first.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Kan.
Line position
A yin line in a yin place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the third line, which is also yin, so there is no answer from it.
Top place: the end of the matter. What reaches its limit turns. Know when to stop.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three inscribed sides, old yin), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Kan (The Abyss); when this line changes it becomes Huan (Dispersion): hexagram 29 changing to 59.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Huan (Dispersion)
People's hearts, or the situation, have scattered and need to be drawn together again.