初六：臀困于株木，入于幽谷，三岁不觌。
Withdrawing ever further into distress cuts off assistance. Restore some contact with a trusted person rather than letting isolation prolong the trap.
I Ching Hexagram 47
Kùn · Oppression
困 · Hexagram 47
Kun, Oppression, concerns preserving yourself when resources are constrained and words cannot readily change the situation. The Lake lacks water. It does not glorify hardship; it asks which principles can be kept, what help is available, and which futile efforts should stop.
Upper trigram: Lake/Duì
Lower trigram: Water/Kǎn
The situation you may be in
You may be exhausted, restricted, or unheard despite repeated explanations. Isolation and self-blame can deepen the difficulty. Turn attention from proving yourself toward practical sources of support.
How to respond
Reserve strength for essentials and actions that can improve the situation. Describe a concrete need to someone dependable. Dignity does not require refusing help or persuading everyone through further explanation.
Judgment and Image
Judgment
困：亨，贞，大人吉，无咎，有言不信。
Oppression. Success. Perseverance. The great person brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
Image
泽无水，困；君子以致命遂志。
Lake without water: Oppression. The superior person stakes his life on following his will.
Applying it to real life
Love & relationships
State your present capacity honestly without making silence punitive. If the relationship itself produces persistent pressure, seek support and practical boundaries rather than enduring it alone.
Career & work
With limited resources or influence, sustain the most important responsibilities and describe the circumstances accurately. Seek useful assistance without treating every structural constraint as a personal failure.
Choice & decisions
Favor a choice that restores agency rather than creating deeper dependence. Check whether apparently supportive options would consume the strength you still have.
Timing & pace
Pressure may loosen gradually rather than through one dramatic turn. Notice small, real exits and act when conditions change, without making a temporary constraint into a permanent identity.
The six changing lines
The lines unfold from the bottom upward, describing one pattern of change from its first appearance to its extreme. If your reading has a changing line, begin with that position.
九二：困于酒食，朱绂方来，利用亨祀，征凶，无咎。
Outward provision can coexist with inward constraint. Receive appropriate support and acknowledge the need instead of trying to escape through an impulsive move.
六三：困于石，据于蒺藜，入于其宫，不见其妻，凶。
The chosen support itself causes injury. Reconsider where help and safety can be found rather than holding tighter to what hurts you.
九四：来徐徐，困于金车，吝，有终。
Help may be slow because of real constraints. Keep the need clear and communication open so delayed support can still become useful.
九五：劓刖，困于赤绂，乃徐有说，利用祭祀。
Status can coexist with severe restriction. Releasing the need to preserve appearances and relating sincerely can allow the pressure to loosen gradually.
上六：困于葛藟，于臲卼，曰动悔。有悔，征吉。
Fear that every move will bring regret can become the final entanglement. Reconsider the old judgment and try an exit that is actually available.
A common misreading
Kun does not demand endless endurance or make suffering a source of worth. It distinguishes external constraint from giving up inwardly, preserving principles while seeking conditions for release.
Related hexagrams
Text and interpretation
Updated 12 September 2026Reviewed by MysticEast Research
This page preserves the Chinese Judgment, Image, and line texts of the received Zhouyi. MysticEast's modern explanations are newly written to emphasize stages of change and practical judgment rather than fixed good-or-bad predictions.
Read the Zhouyi at the Chinese Text ProjectLet the hexagram meet your actual question
A guide gives you the map. A cast made with a clear question can help locate the exact stage of change you are experiencing.