Hexagram 39 — Limping
King Wen #39 · plain-language meaning, the Image, and the classical text
Obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path.
What Hexagram 39 Means 白话解读
Hexagram 39 places mountain (艮) beneath water (坎) — stillness holding its ground below, water finding its way through hard gaps above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Limping”: obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path. Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
The Image 象傳
山上有水，蹇；君子以反身修德。
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and above it that for water, form Kien. The superior man, in accordance with this, turns round (and examines) himself, and cultivates his virtue.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
Water on the mountain top: obstruction. The wise turn inward and repair their own character.— plain-English rendering by The Hexagrams2
Hexagram 39 in Real Questions 實問實答
With money and work
Limping describes obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path — and that is the posture the tradition recommends for practical matters under this figure: stillness holding its ground, held inside a larger setting of water finding its way through hard gaps. It names a shape of timing, not a sum.
For a decision
If you cast Limping about a choice, the figure's counsel is the same movement it pictures: obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path. When lines move in your cast, read them against this base — the moving lines show which part of the figure is awake for you, and the changed hexagram shows where it is heading.
Questions About Hexagram 39
What does 蹇 (jiǎn) mean?
Hexagram 39 of the I Ching is named 蹇 (jiǎn), usually rendered "Limping" in English editions. Its figure is built from mountain (艮) below and water (坎) above — stillness holding its ground beneath water finding its way through hard gaps.
Is hexagram 39 a good omen?
The received text of hexagram 39 is warm: it contains 2 occurrences of 吉 (good fortune). The classical verdict is broadly favourable — with the lines' own conditions attached.
What does hexagram 39 mean in love?
In a relationship reading, Limping points to obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path. The figure pairs mountain (艮) beneath water (坎) — stillness holding its ground meeting water finding its way through hard gaps — which is the traditional picture of how this energy behaves between two people. For how to phrase a love question before casting, see our guide to asking the I Ching about love.
What does hexagram 39 mean for career and money?
Career and money questions read Limping through the figure itself: mountain (艮) below, water (坎) above — stillness holding its ground held inside water finding its way through hard gaps. The plain reading: Obstruction on every side. Halt, turn toward capable allies, and simplify the path. The text carries 2 mentions of 吉 (good fortune), so it is read as workable — provided the conduct the lines describe is kept.
What do the changing lines of hexagram 39 mean?
A cast of hexagram 39 can produce moving lines. Each of the six lines has its own statement (爻辭) in the classical text below, read from the bottom up, and a moving line is read as the part of the figure that is awake for your question. When a line moves it turns into its opposite, and the whole figure becomes a second hexagram: changing every line of 39 gives hexagram 38, 睽 (Polarising). Every line also has a page of its own on this site — Line 1 through Line 6 under this hexagram — with the classical Chinese and Legge's translation side by side.
How is hexagram 39 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 39 gives hexagram 38 — 睽 (Polarising). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 40 — 解 (Taking-Apart). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 64 — 未濟 (Not Yet Fording).
Cast it yourself
Shake the tube, watch your own coins fall.
- The hexagram's classical meaning — judgment and all six lines
- Moving lines marked — but not read for you
- No account, no email, nothing to pay
Get the reading, not just the text
Same cast, read all the way through:
- Every line read for you — what each moving line means inside your question
- The changed hexagram — where your situation is heading, and how to read the turn
- A closing that answers you directly — act, wait, or say it out loud
New to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
The Classical Text 經文
利西南，不利東北；利見大人，貞吉。
In (the state indicated by) Jian advantage will be found in the south-west, and the contrary in the north-east. It will be advantageous (also) to meet with the great man. (In these circumstances), with firmness and correctness, there will be good fortune.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
往蹇，來譽。
From the first SIX, divided, we learn that advance (on the part of its subject) will lead to (greater) difficulties, while remaining stationary will afford ground for praise.
王臣蹇蹇，匪躬之故。
The second SIX, divided, shows the minister of the king struggling with difficulty on difficulty, and not with a view to his own advantage.
往蹇，來反。
The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject advancing, (but only) to (greater) difficulties. He remains stationary, and returns (to his former associates).
往蹇，來連。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject advancing, (but only) to (greater) difficulties. He remains stationary, and unites (with the subject of the line above).
大蹇，朋來。
The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject struggling with the greatest difficulties, while friends are coming to help him.
往蹇，來碩；吉，利見大人。
The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject going forward, (only to increase) the difficulties, while his remaining stationary will be (productive of) great (merit). There will be good fortune, and it will be advantageous to meet with the great man.
Line by Line 逐爻细读
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text.2 The Image (象傳) is an ancient text in the public domain; its plain-English gloss here is original to The Hexagrams, not a quotation from any copyrighted edition. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.