Also known as Modesty, Humility, Humbling.
The character 謙 joins "speech" with "together": words that don't set you above anyone. Hexagram 15 is about modesty, and it is the only hexagram in the book where every line is favorable. Keeping low is a strength that wears well in any situation.
The figure
Earth over Mountain. A mountain sits hidden under the earth, its height out of sight. Real substance doesn't need to show itself. The one solid line, the third, sits at the top of the lower half, holding up the rest without standing out.
The judgment
It goes through, and whoever carries it sees it finished.
Modesty succeeds, and it lasts long enough to finish what it starts. Boastful efforts tend to stall halfway.
The image
A mountain down inside the earth, its height not showing. Take from where there is too much, add where there is too little, and weigh things out level.
Modesty isn't only an attitude. It's a practice of evening things out: taking from where there's too much and giving where there's too little.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Humble about your own humility. Even a big crossing is open to you now. It goes well.
- Line 2. Modesty that shows in how you speak and carry yourself. Holding steady goes well.
- Line 3. Modest even with real merit behind you. You see the work through. It goes well.
- Line 4. Nothing goes wrong for modesty in action. Keep it moving and don't let it turn into false humility.
- Line 5. Not flaunting wealth in front of your neighbors. It is right to act firmly when you must. Nothing goes wrong.
- Line 6, at the top. Modesty that has made itself heard. Now it is right to act, but on your own house first: put your own affairs in order.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 15 is a good sign for almost any question. Do the work, let the results speak and share the credit. When a firm step is needed, take it without making it about you.