I Ching Hexagram 29 - Danger
Description and interpretations of I Ching (Yijing) hexagram 29 "Danger"
坎 - Kǎn
Thuần Khảm
Danger
Upper (Outer) Trigram: ☵ Kan, Water
Lower (Inner) Trigram: ☵ Kan, Water
Other Titles: The Abysmal, The Symbol of Sinking, Water, The Abyss, Gorge, Repeating Gorge, Repeated Entrapment, Double Pitfall, Multiple Danger, Double Water, The Deep, Dark Forces, The Perilous Pit.
English Translations & Interpretations
The Judgement
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Abysmal repeated. If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, and whatever you do succeeds.
Legge: The trigram of Danger, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind is penetrating. Action in accordance with this will be of high value.
Blofeld: Abyss upon abyss -- grave danger! All will be well if confidence is maintained and a sharp hold kept upon the mind; activities so conducted will win esteem.
Liu: Water doubled. Danger. Sincerity leads to success (peacefulness) in your heart and mind. You will succeed in your actions. [This hexagram means danger, misfortune, or entanglement in a difficult situation... You should be both careful and patient; do not struggle with all of the difficulties around you.]
Shaughnessy: Repeated Entrapment: There is a return; the appended heart; receipt; in motion there will be elevation.
Cleary (1): In mastering pitfalls there is truthfulness; thus the mind develops. There is excellence in practice.
Cleary (2): In multiple danger, if there is sincerity, the mind gets through and action has value.
Wu: Entrapment indicates there is confidence. The heart of the matter is that it is pervasive. Actions taken in its accord will be commendable.
The Image
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water flows on uninterruptedly and reaches its goal. The image of the Abysmal repeated. Thus the superior man walks in lasting virtue and carries on the business of teaching.
Legge: The image of water flowing on continuously forms the repeated trigram of Danger. The superior man, in accordance with this, maintains constantly the virtue of his heart and the sincerity of his conduct, and practices the business of instruction.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water flowing on and on and abyss upon abyss. [The trigram K'an is usually inauspicious; here it occurs in duplicate as the upper and the lower trigram; thus the implication is that we are beset by grave dangers from which, if we can escape them at all, the utmost skill and confidence will be required to extricate ourselves.] The Superior Man acts in accordance with the immutable virtues and spends much of his time instructing others in the conduct of affairs.
Liu: Water flows unceasingly into the depths symbolizing Water doubled. The superior man constantly preserves his virtue and practices his task of education.
Cleary (1): Water travels, double water. Thus do superior people consistently practice virtue and learn how to teach.
Cleary (2): Water comes repeatedly – multiple danger. Developed people practice teaching by constant virtuous action. [This is in perfect accord with the Tiantai Buddhist teaching of knowing how to get through an impasse, the method of making an impasse itself into a way through; this is also the method of skillfully using natural ills.]
Wu: Water comes time and again; this is Entrapment. Thus the jun zi practices virtuous conduct and reviews didactics.
Line 1
初六: 習坎, 入于坎窞, 凶．
Wilhelm/Baynes: Repetition of the Abysmal. In the abyss one falls into a pit. Misfortune.
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows its subject in the double defile, and yet entering a cavern within it. There will be evil.
Blofeld: Abyss upon abyss! In one of them, he tumbles into a cranny -- misfortune!
Liu: Water flows repeatedly. One falls into the pit of water. Misfortune.
Shaughnessy: Repeated entrapment; entering the trap pit; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Repeating pitfalls, one goes into a hole in a pit: bad results.
Cleary (2): Multiple danger, going into a hole in a pit, leads to misfortune.
Wu: Entrapment enters into the depths of a pit. There will be foreboding.
Line 2
九二: 坎有險, 求小得．
Wilhelm/Baynes: The abyss is dangerous. One should strive to attain small things only.
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows its subject in all the peril of the defile. He will, however, get a little of the deliverance that he seeks.
Blofeld: Danger lurks within the abyss; only in small matters can he obtain what he desires.
Liu: There is danger in the abyss. One should work for small gains only.
Shaughnessy: The trap has depth; in seeking there is a little gain.
Cleary (1): There is danger in a pitfall. One finds a small gain. [Dwelling in the middle of two yins, daily in the company of petty people and not knowing to approach people imbued with Tao, one will ultimately fall and become a fool, just as there is danger in a pitfall.]
Cleary (2): … One seeks a small gain.
Wu: There is danger in Entrapment. It is all right to seek small gains.
Line 3
六三: 來之坎坎, 險且枕, 入于坎窞, 勿用.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause at first and wait, otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act in this way.
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject, whether she comes or goes, descends or ascends, confronted by a defile. All is peril to her and unrest. Her endeavors will lead her into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action in such a case.
Blofeld: Abyss upon abyss rears up and the danger is acute. He falls into a cranny and there is nothing he can do to help himself.
Liu: Water flows on and on. One is in the pit of the abyss. Danger. Do not act.
Shaughnessy: Bringing it so entrappedly, both steep and deep; entering the trap pit; do not use it.
Cleary: Coming and going, pitfall upon pitfall, dangerous and obstructed, going into a hole: Don’t act this way.
Wu: There is danger in coming and there is danger in going. The subject is in danger and is stopped from exiting. He enters into the depths of a pit and nothing useful will come out of it.
Line 4
六四: 樽酒簋, 貳 用缶, 納約自牖, 終无咎．
Wilhelm/Baynes: A jug of wine, a bowl of rice with it; earthen vessels simply handed in through the window. There is certainly no blame in this.
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, 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. She introduces her important lessons as her ruler's intelligence admits. There will in the end be no error.
Blofeld: A flagon of wine and a bamboo food-basket -- both. These objects were handed to him through a hole in the rock. To the very end he remains free from blame. [The terrible trouble in which we find ourselves occurs through no fault of ours; others are able to help us to some extent -- but it looks as though their help may serve only to prolong our agony.]
Liu: A jug of wine. Two bowls of food should be put into an earthen container and passed through the window. There is no blame in the end.
Shaughnessy: Offering wine and tureens in pairs; use earthenware. Take in the angelica from the window; in the end there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): One jug of wine, two vessels. Use simplicity, sincerity, and openness, and in the end there will be no fault.
Cleary (2): A jug of wine with a ceremonial vessel of grain alongside. Use a plain cup; take in a pledge through the window. In the end there is no fault.
Wu: Using a jar of wine and a bamboo basket of food with ordinary table earthenware, he presents himself at the window. In the end, he will be blameless. [The judgment describes a person in a precarious position (the fourth) presenting himself in a simple way to his ruler (the fifth). The scene may also be viewed as a loyal minister offering his counsel to his king in time of crisis.]
Line 5
九五: 坎不盈, 祗既平, 无咎.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The abyss is not filled to overflowing. It is filled only to the rim. No blame.
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, 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.
Blofeld: The abyss is not filled to the brim; the flowing water maintains its level -- no error!
Liu: The water does not overflow its bounds. The waves are calm. No blame. [People will achieve their goals smoothly and without endangering themselves.]
Shaughnessy: The trap is not filled, but the sandbar has been flattened; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): The pit is not full, it has only reached level; there is no blame.
Cleary (2): The pit is not filled, only leveled. No blame.
Wu: Entrapment is not full. It is level and uneventful. There will be no blame.
Line 6
上六: 係用黴纆, 寘于叢棘, 三歲不得, 凶．
Wilhelm/Baynes: Bound with cords and ropes, shut in between thorn-hedged prison walls: for three years one does not find the way. Misfortune.
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject bound with cords of three strands or two strands, and placed in the thicket of thorns. But in three years she does not learn the course for her to pursue. There will be evil.
Blofeld: Bound with black ropes and imprisoned amidst thorns, for three years he fails to obtain what he seeks. [This situation is far from cheerful, but not as hopeless as the situation of those who receive moving lines in the second and third places.]
Liu: Tied with thick ropes, one is put in prison among thorn bushes. One cannot find the way for three years. Misfortune. [If you receive this line, avoid all entanglements, both physical and mental. Be cautious, or you will be detained.]
Shaughnessy: The attachment uses braids and cords: place him in the clumped thorn bushes, for three years not getting him; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Bound with rope, put in a briar patch, for three years one cannot find the way out; misfortune.
Cleary (2): … Helpless for three years – misfortune.
Wu: He is tied with black ropes and surrounded by thorny vines. He cannot set himself free for three years. Foreboding.
Notes
For an in-depth glossary of I Ching, click here.
Hexagram 29 means danger. A potential hazard that you must quickly escape from. Water is a very powerful force that can cause floods and people to drown.
It is a sign of bad luck with unexpected pitfalls. You are in a dreadful situation where you cannot advance or retreat. You need to have a calm mind to effectively overcome the difficulty. The danger can be surmounted with your confidence and skill.
Do not delay and do what has to be done. Water brings wealth but if it is too much, water can be a destructive force.
