Also known as The Well, The Source.
The character 井 is a picture of a well, or of the square grid of fields around one. Hexagram 48 is about the deep, lasting things people depend on: shared resources, human nature, sources of meaning. Towns change and the well stays. The question is whether anyone reaches it.
The figure
Water over Wind. Wind here stands for wood: a wooden bucket lowered into water and drawn back up. It is the reverse of hexagram 47.
The judgment
You can move the town and not move the well. Nothing lost, nothing gained. People come and go and the water stays. Get the bucket almost up and break it, and that is bad.
The source never runs out, but getting to it takes care all the way up. Stopping short, or a broken rope, wastes the effort.
The image
Water drawn up through timber. Put people to the task, and have them back each other up.
A well serves everyone. Organize a community so that each person draws from it and adds to it.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The well is silted up and no one draws from it. An old, neglected well tempts not even the beasts.
- Line 2. Water trickles out only to the small fish at the bottom, and the jug leaks. Your gifts go unused.
- Line 3. The well is clean but nobody drinks, and that's a sorrow. It could be drawn from; with clear leadership, everyone would gain.
- Line 4. The well is being relined. It can't be used for now, but the repair is the right work.
- Line 5. Fresh, icy water fills the well. Draw it up and share it; it is there for everyone.
- Line 6, at the top. The water is drawn freely and the well is left uncovered for all. It's dependable. It could hardly go better.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 48 points to what's deep and lasting in your situation. Go back to the source, keep it clear and make sure the effort goes all the way. Something good is there; it needs to be reached and shared.