Exhaustion
困Kun
No. 47 · Lake over Water
Kun (Exhaustion)
You are hemmed in, short on room to act, and what you say isn't believed. What holds you up is staying steadfast and keeping your purpose alive inside.
Cast your own hexagramIn Kun (Exhaustion) resources are thin, there's little room to act, and people aren't listening. The Judgment still says it can get through, on the condition that you stay steadfast and keep your purpose standing. Say less and do more.
Favorable
- Say less, do more
- Cut back on spending
- Hold on to your purpose
- Ask for help when stuck
Avoid
- Arguing your way out
- Borrowing to keep up appearances
- Hiding from everyone
- Moving in a panic
Work and money
- Job search
- Job hunting or switching roles is slow going under Kun (Exhaustion): few replies, and even a great interview may not convince. The Judgment says words aren't believed, so skip the big claims. Bring a portfolio, credentials and real results; they carry more weight than talk.
- Business
- Cash is tight and funds are stuck, which makes this a poor time to expand or borrow heavily to keep going. Cut unneeded costs and protect your core customers. The second line of Kun (Exhaustion) warns that setting out brings trouble: don't open a new front yet.
- Money
- Money is tight and cash flow is hard. Cut what you don't need first. Don't prop things up with loans or smooth talk.
Love and people
- Single
- Meeting the right person is harder for now, and the more you hurry, the more it feels like selling yourself. The second line is hemmed in by wine and food: lots of social events doesn't mean lots of real connection. Get your own life steady first.
- In a relationship
- Money or family matters may be weighing on you both, and in a fight everything sounds like an excuse. In Kun (Exhaustion) the third line comes home and can't find the one they live with, an image it calls unfavorable. Don't push your partner away; hear each other out.
- Getting back together
- The chance of getting back together is slim, and more promises won't land. Stop sending long messages explaining yourself and get your own life going. If you've really changed, they tend to notice in time.
- People and partnerships
- Partners may be unreliable, and you feel pulled from above and below. In Kun (Exhaustion) the fifth line is tied down by its own title, yet it says joy comes slowly. Hold your position, don't hurry, and the tension tends to ease.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Studying feels draining and scores won't climb. Find the few chapters you keep getting wrong and work only on those. The first line of Kun (Exhaustion) retreats into a dark valley and sees no one, so when you're stuck, ask for help.
- Moving and travel
- Travel tends to snag: delayed flights, document problems, money running short. The third line of Kun (Exhaustion) is hemmed in by rock, so if it won't budge, don't force it. Postpone long trips that can wait, and work out a full budget before moving.
- Body and mind
- Stress is high and you may want to shut yourself in. The top line of Kun (Exhaustion) fears any move will bring regret, but staying frozen makes it worse. Do one small thing, or have a meal with a friend. If poor sleep or physical discomfort drags on, book a doctor's visit.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Unlikely to come soon; the people or money in between haven't loosened yet. The fourth line of Kun (Exhaustion) comes slowly, slowly, yet there is an end. If the direction is right, it tends to get there, so don't switch course halfway.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- A lawsuit or negotiation leans against you. The Tuan says relying on the mouth only deepens the hardship of Kun (Exhaustion). Argue less in public, gather written evidence and, if needed, let a lawyer speak for you.
- Lost things and people
- Hard to recover. Kan (Water) is water, ditches and dark places; Dui (Lake) is marshes and openings. Look to the north near water, drains, or dark gaps behind cabinets. If someone has picked it up, getting it back is difficult.
Making a decision
Hold off on big changes; persuading anyone is hard right now. Keep to your part and wait for the situation to loosen before you make a move.
If you are…
Kun (Exhaustion) is a lake with no water, and your money and strength are nearly gone. Lay out every treatment option and its cost with the vet, and pick the path you can actually sustain. Don't borrow to force it, and let your friends know what you're going through.
Years of work, and you keep stalling at the same round, which wears down your confidence. The Image of Kun (Exhaustion) says to fulfill your purpose whatever it takes. Go through your battle footage frame by frame, find the exact point where it breaks down, and keep walking the path you chose.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
亨，貞大人吉，无咎，有言不信。
Success. Steadfastness: for the great person, good fortune, no blame. Words spoken are not believed.
Lake over Water: Dui (Lake) above, Kan (Water) below. The water has drained out beneath the lake, leaving the lake empty, so the hexagram is called Kun (Exhaustion). In the figure the firm lines are covered over by yielding ones, and their strength is held down and can't get out.
Six at the beginning
臀困于株木，入于幽谷，三歲不覿。
Sitting stuck on a bare tree stump. Entering a dark valley, and for three years seeing no one.
You are at the bottom, can't settle where you sit, and keep retreating into the dark. The more you hide, the less you see a way out. Let at least one or two people know how you are doing instead of carrying it alone.
Small Image: 入于幽谷，幽不明也。
Nine in the second place
困于酒食，朱紱方來，利用享祀，征凶，无咎。
Hemmed in by wine and food (so much that it becomes a burden). The red knee-covers of office are just arriving. It pays to make offerings. Setting out brings misfortune; staying put, no blame.
The pressure right now is too many dinners, favors and obligations, while recognition or a promotion is on its way. Use the good fortune to give back and show thanks. Don't rush to switch jobs or expand.
Small Image: 困于酒食，中有慶也。
Six in the third place
困于石，據于蒺藜，入于其宮，不見其妻，凶。
Hemmed in by rock, leaning on thorny caltrops. He enters his house and does not see his wife. Misfortune.
You can't push forward, and what you lean on hurts. Even the closest support seems absent. Don't force your way through, and don't lean on unreliable people; tend to the relationships nearest you first.
Small Image: 據于蒺藜，乘剛也。入于其宮，不見其妻，不祥也。
Nine in the fourth place
來徐徐，困于金車，吝，有終。
Coming slowly, slowly, held up by a golden carriage. Humiliation, but there is an end.
You want to help someone or answer them, but people in between hold you up. You move slowly and it looks awkward. As long as the direction is right, you can still get there, just later.
Small Image: 來徐徐，志在下也。雖不當位，有與也。
Nine in the fifth place
劓刖，困于赤紱，乃徐有說，利用祭祀。
Nose cut, feet cut (hurt above and below). Hemmed in by the scarlet knee-covers of a minister. Slowly there is joy. It pays to make sacrifices.
Pressed from above and pulled from below, your own title ends up tying your hands. Rushing won't help. Hold your position, work in good faith, and the situation tends to loosen bit by bit.
Small Image: 劓刖，志未得也。乃徐有說，以中直也。利用祭祀，受福也。
Six at the top
困于葛藟，于臲卼，曰動悔。有悔，征吉。
Hemmed in by creeping vines, on a high and shaky perch. One says, "If I move, I'll regret it." If there is true remorse, setting out brings good fortune.
You are at the far end of being stuck and so afraid of making it worse that you do nothing. Name what went wrong before and change it. Moving forward then is where things start to turn.
Small Image: 困于葛藟，未當也。動悔，有悔，吉行也。
困，剛掩也。險以說，困而不失其所亨，其唯君子乎！貞大人吉，以剛中也。有言不信，尚口乃窮也。
Kun (Exhaustion): the firm is covered over. Danger, yet joy: being hemmed in without losing what lets one get through. Perhaps only the noble person can do this. Steadfastness, good fortune for the great person: because the firm line is in the center. Words spoken are not believed: the more one relies on the mouth, the deeper the hardship.
The Image澤无水，困；君子以致命遂志。
The lake has no water: this is Kun (Exhaustion). The noble person, seeing this, would give up even their life to fulfill their purpose.
The Sequence: why it comes here升而不已，必困，故受之以困。
Rising without stopping, strength is bound to run out, and one ends up hemmed in. So Sheng (Pushing Upward) is followed by Kun (Exhaustion).
Miscellaneous Notes井通，而困相遇也。
Kun (Exhaustion) means running into something: hitting an obstacle and getting stuck where you are. Set against it, Jing (The Well) means getting through: the water flows freely and anyone who comes can draw it. Jing is open, Kun is blocked.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Kun mean for love?
Meeting the right person is harder for now, and the more you hurry, the more it feels like selling yourself. The second line is hemmed in by wine and food: lots of social events doesn't mean lots of real connection. Get your own life steady first. Money or family matters may be weighing on you both, and in a fight everything sounds like an excuse. In Kun (Exhaustion) the third line comes home and can't find the one they live with, an image it calls unfavorable. Don't push your partner away; hear each other out.
What does Kun mean for work?
Job hunting or switching roles is slow going under Kun (Exhaustion): few replies, and even a great interview may not convince. The Judgment says words aren't believed, so skip the big claims. Bring a portfolio, credentials and real results; they carry more weight than talk. Work feels stuck: you're passed over, or your explanations aren't believed. Argue less, do well what you can do, and let results speak for you.
With Kun, will what I am waiting for come?
Unlikely to come soon; the people or money in between haven't loosened yet. The fourth line of Kun (Exhaustion) comes slowly, slowly, yet there is an end. If the direction is right, it tends to get there, so don't switch course halfway.
With Kun, will I find what I lost?
Hard to recover. Kan (Water) is water, ditches and dark places; Dui (Lake) is marshes and openings. Look to the north near water, drains, or dark gaps behind cabinets. If someone has picked it up, getting it back is difficult.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.