井Jing · The Well
In one sentence
The fundamental thing has not changed. The question is whether you are using it well, and using it all the way.
The hexagram of the well: the village can move, the well cannot; the water neither grows nor shrinks, and whoever comes can draw. Go back to the root that has always nourished you; repair it and use it well. See things through — if the water spills at the mouth of the well, you drew it for nothing.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- Your foundation, your craft, your profession, the well that has always fed you, has not changed. The question is whether you are using it well. Rather than moving somewhere else, repair the well and dig it deeper. See things through to the end: water hauled up to the mouth of the well and then spilled is water never drawn.
- Love
- The most basic thing between the two of you is still there, no more and no less; it only depends on whether anyone goes to draw the water. Stop thinking about changing the person or the setting. Go back to what has always nourished you both and tend it well. If you are single, repair your own well first. Whatever you have begun to say or do, see it through.
- Money
- Your source of money is that old well: dependable skills and your old line of work. It will not suddenly give more, and it will not suddenly give less. Stop thinking about digging somewhere else; maintain it well and use it well. Be most careful with what is about to succeed, and do not loosen your grip at the finish. A bucket overturned at the mouth of the well is work wasted.
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 wordsA town can be moved, but the well does not move; the well's water never grows less and never grows more, and everyone who comes and goes draws from it. The bucket is almost at the mouth of the well, the rope not yet fully pulled in, and the jar breaks: misfortune — carry on with things as before, but do not ruin them just when they are nearly done.
The Tuan commentary
巽乎水而上水，井；井養而不窮也。改邑不改井，乃以剛中也。汔至亦未繘井，未有功也。羸其瓶，是以凶也。
Going down into the water and bringing the water up: Jing. The well nourishes and is never exhausted. "The town may be changed, but not the well": because the firm holds the center. "The rope has nearly reached the top but is not yet out of the well": nothing has been achieved yet. "The jar breaks": that is why there is misfortune.
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
木上有水，井。君子以勞民勸相。
Water over wood: Jing (The Well). The noble one encourages the people at their work and urges them to help one another.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text井泥不食，舊井无禽。The well is muddy and no one drinks from it. An old well: no birds come.In plain wordsThe bottom of the well is all mud, and the water cannot be drunk; an abandoned well, where not even birds come. With no living water, no one pays it any attention. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text井谷射鮒，甕敝漏。In the well's hollow, water trickles to the minnows. The jug is broken and leaks.In plain wordsThe water in the well only seeps away into a small hole at the bottom, keeping a few little fish alive; the clay jug for drawing water is broken too, and leaks. There is water, but it cannot reach the top. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text井渫不食，為我心惻。可用汲，王明並受其福。The well is cleaned out, yet no one drinks. My heart aches for it. It could be drawn. If the king is clear-sighted, all share in the blessing.In plain wordsThe well has been cleaned out, yet no one comes to drink, and it pains the heart. This water could be drawn up and used. If the king is wise, both those who draw the water and those who drink it receive the blessing. Talent that has not been put to use. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text井甃，无咎。The well is lined with brick. No blame.In plain wordsLine the wall of the well properly with brick; no blame. For the time being you cannot give others anything, but first put yourself in good repair. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text井冽，寒泉食。The well is clear; its cold spring water is drunk.In plain wordsThe well water is clear, and the cold spring water can now be drunk. You are clean and full yourself, and you truly nourish others too. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text井收勿幕，有孚元吉。The well is drawn from; do not cover it. There is sincerity. Supreme good fortune.In plain wordsThe water has been drawn up; do not cover the mouth of the well, let anyone come and take. The source is inexhaustible, flowing on and on: great 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, Jing belongs to the third pentad of Grain in Ear, “The mimic bird falls silent” (June 16 to June 20, 2027).