蹇Jian · Obstruction
In one sentence
The road ahead is very hard. Do not force your way forward yet.
Danger in front, a mountain behind; you can hardly take a step. Stop, and turn back to examine yourself. Take the easy road and stay away from the dangerous direction. Find capable people to help you. Stay true and there is good fortune.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The road ahead is very hard: danger in front, a mountain behind. Forcing your way through now will only make it worse. Stop, and first look back at where you yourself fall short. Choose the road that is easy to walk, stay away from the dangerous direction, and go find capable people to help. Stay true, and there is good fortune.
- Love
- This relationship can hardly move a step right now, and the harder you push it forward, the harder it gets. Pause first and look back at the problems in yourself, instead of only blaming the other person. Leave the hard conversations for now and start from the easy places. If you cannot untangle it yourself, talk to someone trustworthy and wise. If you are single, do not force a pursuit either.
- Money
- Money is stuck, and it is hard to go forward or back. Do not put more in for now, and do not take a dangerous road just to turn things around. Stop and check your own accounts and methods to see where the problem lies. Take the safe road, and ask someone knowledgeable and dependable to lend a hand.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsIt is favorable to head southwest, toward level ground, and not favorable to head northeast, toward steep and dangerous ground. You should go to see a person of virtue and ability; stay true, and there is good fortune.
The Tuan commentary
蹇，難也，險在前也。見險而能止，知矣哉！蹇利西南，往得中也；不利東北，其道窮也。利見大人，往有功也。當位貞吉，以正邦也。蹇之時用大矣哉！
Jian means difficulty: danger lies ahead. To see the danger and be able to stop: that is wisdom indeed. In Jian "the southwest is favorable": going, one holds the center. "The northeast is not favorable": that way is exhausted. "It is favorable to see the great person": going brings achievement. In its proper place, "staying true brings good fortune": by this the state is set right. Great indeed is the use of the time of Jian.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
山上有水，蹇。君子以反身修德。
Water on the mountain: Jian (Obstruction). The noble one turns back to examine the self and cultivate virtue.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text往蹇來譽。Going meets obstruction; coming back wins praise.In plain wordsGoing forward is danger; pulling back actually earns you praise. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故。The king's servant meets obstruction upon obstruction, and not for his own sake.In plain wordsFor the sake of the one above you, you run back and forth through the hardship, trip after trip, not for yourself. Do not ask whether it will succeed; just give it all your heart and all your strength. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text往蹇來反。Going meets obstruction; one comes back.In plain wordsGoing forward is danger; come back to your own people, and there you are secure. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text往蹇來連。Going meets obstruction; coming back, one joins with others.In plain wordsGoing forward is danger; come back and join with the strong person beside you, and get across with your strength combined. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text大蹇朋來。In great obstruction, friends come.In plain wordsYou are caught in a difficulty far beyond the ordinary, but friends will hurry to help. It is because you yourself stand upright that people come. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text往蹇來碩，吉。利見大人。Going meets obstruction; coming back brings greatness. Good fortune. It is favorable to see the great person.In plain wordsYou are already at the end; going further will only be harder. Come back and follow the person of virtue and standing, get through the difficulty together, and there will be great achievement. Good fortune. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Jian belongs to the second pentad of Major Snow, “Tigers begin to mate” (December 12 to December 16, 2026).