47
Hexagram 47, Kun: “Exhaustion,” “Oppression.” Strength and means are running short, and outside circumstances are pressing in.
The image of the hexagram
Below is the Kan trigram (water), above is Dui (lake). A lake over water: the water has drained out of the lake below — a dried-up spring.
General meaning
The answer is hard, but not hopeless. Kun describes depletion: no resources, no support, words that fail to get through. The classic text warns that in this position justifying yourself and trying to persuade are useless — “there are words, but they are not believed.” The way out lies through inner steadiness and cutting back to the essentials.
In love and at work
In relationships: fatigue, no response, the feeling that you are not being heard. At work: no money, no orders, a lost position. For new commitments, the answer is no.
What to do
Cut everything back to the essentials and stop explaining. Restoring your strength matters more right now than proving you are right.