Also known as The Abysmal, The Abyss, Repeated Danger.
The character 坎 means a pit or a hollow in the ground. Hexagram 29 is water doubled: danger on top of danger. It isn't a counsel of despair. Water gets through every obstacle by staying true to its nature and keeping on the move.
The figure
Water over Water. Each trigram has one strong line caught between two weak ones, like a stream running through a ravine. The danger is real, and the strength sits at the center of each half.
The judgment
Danger, and then the same danger again. What gets you through is holding to something you actually believe. Keep moving; that counts for more than getting clear.
Water flows on without hesitating and fills every hollow before it moves on. Your conviction is what keeps you from losing your nerve.
The image
Water arrives and arrives. Do the same thing the same way every time, and teach it until it is second nature.
Consistency is how you meet danger. Practice until the right response becomes habit.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Deep water on deep water. You fall into the pit. It goes badly. Getting used to danger until you stop seeing it.
- Line 2. The pit is dangerous. Aim only for small gains. Don't try to get out all at once.
- Line 3. Danger ahead and behind, pit within pit. Stop and wait. Rushing now only sinks you deeper.
- Line 4. Wine in a jar, rice in a dish, plain earthen cups handed in at the window. Not a mistake. Plain honesty is enough in a hard time.
- Line 5. The pit isn't overflowing. It's filled just to the brim. Not a mistake. Do enough to get through, not more.
- Line 6, at the top. Tied up with cords and penned in a thorn hedge. Three years pass with no way out. It goes badly. Lost so far that only time can undo it.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 29 says you are in a difficult stretch, and it may repeat. Keep your integrity, take small steps, and keep moving like water. Don't panic and don't grow numb to the danger.