Also known as Deliverance, Release, Liberation.
The character 解 means to untie or set free. Hexagram 40 follows the obstruction of hexagram 39 with release: the knot loosens, the storm breaks and tension clears. What you do next is the question. Get back to normal quickly, and let go of old grudges.
The figure
Thunder over Water. Thunder and rain break the heavy, stuck weather open. Movement comes out of danger. It is the reverse of hexagram 39.
The judgment
Southwest works. If there is nowhere to go, coming back goes well. If there is somewhere, go early.
Once the trouble passes, return to ordinary life on open ground. If there is still something to settle, settle it fast, then stop.
The image
Thunder and rain breaking the weather open. Let the mistakes go and go easy on the offences.
The air is clear now. Forgive what can be forgiven, and don't hold on to what's over.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Not a mistake. The release has come. Rest.
- Line 2. Three foxes caught in the field, and a yellow arrow received. Holding steady goes well. Clearing out the sly influences with a straight aim.
- Line 3. Carrying a load on your back while riding in a carriage draws robbers. Holding on brings shame. Showing off what you don't truly own invites trouble.
- Line 4. Free yourself from your big toe. Then the friend arrives, and you can trust them. Drop the hangers-on and the right people can reach you.
- Line 5. Only by freeing yourself do things go well. It shows the petty people you mean it.
- Line 6, at the top. The prince's arrow brings down a hawk sitting on top of the ramparts. All of it helps. One clean, well-timed act removes the last obstacle.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 40 says the tension is breaking. Finish what's left quickly, let grudges go and get back to normal. Cut loose from people or habits that keep you tangled.