易I Ching Notes
59

渙

Huàn · Dispersion

Scatter what has hardened; gather around what is alive.

Read the judgment

Six lines, read from the bottom up.

Upper 巽 Wind · Lower 坎 Water Tap a line to read it

The judgment

渙:亨。 王假有廟,利涉大川,利貞。

Dispersion succeeds. The king comes to the temple; it is worth crossing the great water. Staying true is favorable.

Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex59.judgment.

The image

象曰:風行水上,渙。先王以享於帝立廟。

Wind over water: dispersion. The old kings offered sacrifice to heaven and established temples: when things scatter, give them a center.

Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex59.image.

Scatter what has hardened; gather around what is alive.

The six lines

Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.

初六 用拯馬壯,吉。 Rescue with a strong horse. Good fortune: act fast while the pieces are still moving.

Rescue with a strong horse. Good fortune: act fast while the pieces are still moving.

九二 渙奔其機,悔亡。 In dispersion, run to the support. Regret disappears: get to the thing that holds.

In dispersion, run to the support. Regret disappears: get to the thing that holds.

六三 渙其躬,無悔。 Disperse yourself. No regret: let go of your own fixed position.

Disperse yourself. No regret: let go of your own fixed position.

六四 渙其群,元吉。 渙有丘,匪夷所思。 Disperse the group: great good fortune. In dispersion there is a hill: what ordinary thinking cannot imagine.

Disperse the group: great good fortune. In dispersion there is a hill: what ordinary thinking cannot imagine.

九五 渙汗其大號,渙王居,無咎。 Dispersion like sweat, a great cry; the king's house is dispersed. No blame: the release has to be public and total.

Dispersion like sweat, a great cry; the king's house is dispersed. No blame: the release has to be public and total.

上九 渙其血,去逖出,無咎。 Disperse the blood; go far away. No blame: leave the wound behind and get distance.

Disperse the blood; go far away. No blame: leave the wound behind and get distance.

Cast six lines

Hold one question in mind. Throw three coins, six times, from the bottom line up.