No. 48 The Well
水风井 · Jǐng · Wind under Water
“The well does not move, and it does not run dry. Depth is the whole point.”
Lower trigram ☴ Wind 巽 — gentle persistence & penetration
Upper trigram ☵ Water 坎 — depth & steady flow
Trigram: a three-line symbolic figure that forms one half of an I Ching hexagram.
- Inexhaustible source
- Steady depth
- Maintenance
- Shared resource
- Drawing up
Introduction
Above the wind there is water: nourishment drawn from below and given upward. The Well pictures a source that does not move and does not run dry.
In practice, this names a stretch where the work is maintenance rather than discovery. What sustains you is already dug; it needs tending.
The judgement
“The Well. The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. If the rope does not go all the way, or the jug breaks, there is misfortune.”
In plain words: the source is reliable, and failures here are failures of equipment rather than supply.
Read it as a note about finishing the draw. Reaching the water and losing it on the way up tends to be the actual risk.
Core themes
- The source is there. Getting the water out intact is the work.
- Carelessness at the last step tends to waste everything before it.
- Maintenance is unglamorous and decisive.
Line-by-line overview
Six lines, read bottom to top — matching the figure above.
Each line describes one stage in an evolving situation. Line 1 marks the earliest, foundational beginning; line 6 shows where the pattern has run its course. Open a line to read it.
Line 1 初六
At the base the water is fouled and unused.
The old line says even animals pass an old well by.
A neglected source tends to look empty to everyone including you.
Line 2 九二
Here the aim is at fish while the jug leaks.
The old image is losing the water anyway.
Polishing the wrong part tends to leave a person just as thirsty as before.
Line 3 九三
At this level the work has been done and is unrecognised.
The old line speaks of grief and adds that good would follow clear sight from above.
Finished work waiting to be noticed tends to be a hard and common position.
Line 4 六四
Here the repair is structural rather than cosmetic.
The old line records no fault for the effort.
Reinforcing the walls tends to matter more than polishing the bucket.
Line 5 九五
At the centre the water is genuinely good.
The old line describes a cold spring anyone may draw from.
Clean supply tends to be its own argument.
Line 6 上六
At the top the well is open to everyone and the old line says to keep it covered.
Access here is universal.
A source shared freely tends to stay clean only if somebody protects it.
Summary
Read as a whole, this figure asks you to tend what already sustains you. Clean the source, repair the container, and finish the draw instead of starting another dig.
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Hexagram 48 · The Well 井
A way to look at what is moving around you now, not a fixed answer. Notice your inner state, then decide how to act.
The bond does not need reinventing. It needs tending.
Long relationships tend to run dry from neglect rather than conflict.
People often look for new intensity when the source is merely silted. Clearing silt tends to restore what new beginnings promise.
Do the maintenance.
Ultimately, your real-world facts and personal choices will shape how things unfold.
This hexagram contains 1 changing line. You may read detailed line interpretations inside the full hexagram-knowledge page. If you want to deepen your understanding of changing lines and line positions, please visit our I-Ching six-line learning page.
Read the full guide →- Name what once fed this bond and has stopped. A named source tends to be restorable; a vague sense of drift tends not to be.
- Notice whether you keep starting conversations and abandoning them. Finished conversations tend to nourish; half-finished ones tend to drain.
Related reading
Short reads from the blog. A changing line is a line that may shift as a situation moves.
Working with changing lines
Learn about changing lines and how to interpret them
Expectation & inner honesty
Set proper expectations before your reflection reading
Using the I Ching for self-reflection
A source you draw from again.
Related hexagrams
Oppression · 困
Read it the other way up
No. 49Revolution · 革
The hexagram after this one
No. 46Pushing Upward · 升
The hexagram before this one
If you would like to browse all 64 hexagrams, visit All 64 Hexagrams.
If you would like to learn about static hexagrams and the interpretation rules for changing lines within I-Ching, please visit our general guide: Understanding Changing & Static Lines.