Also known as Oppression, Exhaustion, Confinement, Adversity.
The character 困 shows a tree boxed in on every side. Hexagram 47 is about being squeezed: tired, short of means, and unable to talk your way out. It is one of the hardest hexagrams, and one of the most encouraging, because it says the right person comes through hardship stronger.
The figure
Lake over Water. The water has drained out from under the lake, leaving it dry. The strong lines are held down by weak ones around them. It is the reverse of hexagram 48.
The judgment
Squeezed, and it still comes out well if you hold. Someone steady does fine here. Nothing you say will be believed, so stop explaining.
Hardship tests what you're made of. Stay cheerful inside and keep your aim. Don't spend energy arguing your case; actions will speak later.
The image
A lake with the water gone out of it. When there is nothing left to draw on, spend yourself on the thing you actually meant to do.
When everything outside dries up, what's left is your own will. Put it fully behind what matters most.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. You sit under a bare tree and wander into a dark valley, seeing nothing for a long time. Don't let the gloom feed on itself.
- Line 2. Hemmed in even with food and drink in front of you. Help from high up is on its way. Stay quiet and patient; pushing out now goes badly.
- Line 3. You lean on rock and grab at thorns, and come home to find no one there. Struggling against what can't be moved only hurts.
- Line 4. Help arrives slowly, held back by people with means. It's awkward, but it ends well.
- Line 5. Squeezed from above and below, and blocked by those in power. Relief comes gradually. Stay devoted and steady.
- Line 6, at the top. Tangled in vines and unsure of your footing. You think any move will be a mistake. Once you see that, you're free to move, and going forward goes well.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 47 says you're under real pressure. It won't last. Keep your spirit, say less and do what you can. Don't argue, don't despair and don't drop your purpose.