Hex 48. The Well

[scalyboy]

Hello, new member here.
My question may have been covered elsewhere, but i couldn't find anything via Search, so here goes...
Regarding Hexagram 48, if one receives it as an unchanging hexagram with no moving lines, or if it is the hexagram that appears following changing line(s), how do people interpret it? I ask this, because it seems to me that the judgement is somewhat ambiguous - unlike the Judgements for other hexagrams. Is it to be interpreted as presaging ill fortune, in the sense of something having run dry or run its course?

Here is the Wilhelm translation:

THE WELL. The town may be changed,
But the well cannot be changed.
It neither decreases nor increases.
They come and go and draw from the well.
If one gets down almost to the water
And the rope does not go all the way,
Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

It seems to me that the last three lines are very different from the others. Is it a hexagram of good or ill fortune? What do people think?
Thanks.

 

[hollis]

hi new member

hi scalyboy.

i've gotten it a few times, and recently too. it has meant, in my situation, that what i was inquiring about was good, plentiful, genuine nourishment, the real deal, unmovable there for all. but. there was a (in these case,strong), possibility that i would not be able to drink from it.

from this i learned to maintain a positive value the subject of 48, and to observe myself in relation to it. if i could or couldn't. draw from it.

 

[scalyboy]

Thanks. That's how I understand it as well.
It just seems to me that the judgement for this particular hexagram is more open to interpretation than those of others, say for example no.54 or 46 - which seem unequivocally negative or positive respectively.

 

[hollis]

yes

agreed, which is why i was perplexed when drawing 48 no change, and waited it out to see what happened with it.

 

[bruce_g]

48 isn't positive or negative. It's a valuable and essential thing (the well), but the water is only reachable if you go deep enough; and even then it requires careful extraction of the water. If not, misfortune.

 

[willowfox]

The actual meaning really depends upon the question asked.

 

[sofia]

Hi, so if my question was whether certain people saw me as foolish for being too honest and opening my heart too much, and I got 28 leading to 48 could you shed any light on that?

thanks

 

[el_2]

Hi Scalyboy

Although I'm inexperienced, I'll dare offer some thoughts because I've gotten this hexagram repeatedly lately and it is one of the hexagrams I keep pondering about.

There are two things about the Judgement that seem to be important or that I've focused on. One thing is that the Well (whatever it might be in your case, you'll have to determine this) is the unchangeable within change. The second important thing is that the whole hexagram (the lines and the Judgement) seems to focus on the act of reaching the water. Somewhere in this site, Hilary emphasizes that the Well is a way of reaching the water.

I'm stating the obvious here but I thought that it might help you clarify some things?

As far as 28 > 48 is concerned, someone more experienced might be able to help you with your interpretation better than I can although I can remember the overall feeling of 28. It is indeed a situation that cannot and should not last. Something must be done to get out of it. Perhaps the Yi is referring to how you feel about the situation (that 28 feeling)? Line 4... I'm not so sure what the advice is. Perhaps someone else can help you.

el_2

 

[Trojina]

scalyboy (what a great name lol) asked this question nearly two years ago and has likley vanished. Sofia tacked her question onto the end of a 2 year old question which can sometimes get confusing as everyone starts addressing the long departed querant...easier to start a new thread i reckon