57. The Gentle (Penetrating, Wind)

The two trigrams

above

☴

The Wind

巽 · xùn

wind and wood

below

☴

The Wind

巽 · xùn

wind and wood

The Judgement

The Wind does not break down doors: it enters through every crack, bends the grass, and by blowing steadily changes things. This hexagram tells you that in this period you will obtain some small attainment and modest progress, not a resounding victory; but that it is worth moving, in any direction, and that it will help you to see a great person, that is someone more experienced and stronger than you to ask for guidance. Legge recalls the words of Confucius: the relation between those who lead and those who follow is like that between the wind and the grass, which must bend when the wind blows. The work of the Gentle is not to revolutionise but to correct and improve with softness and constancy. If you are trying to get an idea through at the office, to change a habit in the family, to convince someone who resists, do not use force: use gentle repetition, presence, patience. The practical advice is to choose one single thing to change and to return to it every day, without shouting. The wind wins because it does not stop.

The Image

Wind following wind: two gusts one after the other. The wise person, says the image, reiterates his orders and makes sure his arrangements are put into practice. It is not enough to say a thing once: it must be said again, checked, followed through. For you it is a concrete reminder: if you have asked something of a collaborator, a child, a supplier, do not take for granted that it has been done. Ask again kindly, check, close the loop. Repeated constancy is what turns an intention into a result.

First line

First line: now you advance, now you draw back. It is the perplexity of someone who cannot decide and stays on the threshold, mind confused. The text says the firm correctness of a brave soldier would help you: not violence, but discipline. If you have been putting off a choice for weeks, an interview, a conversation, a change of course, set a date and keep it. The wind's gentleness is a quality, but without a backbone it becomes mere indecision.

Second line

Second line: something is hidden beneath the couch, and to find it you resort to diviners and exorcists, with a haste bordering on confusion. And yet there will be good fortune and no error. It is the image of someone facing a hidden problem, a worry, a suspicion, a difficulty in the family, seeking help from every quarter: consultants, friends, specialists. The work is great and you seem to lose yourself in it, but your sincerity leads you to the result. Ask for help without shame, but keep the thread: not all advice is worth the same.

Third line

Third line: you penetrate only by violent and repeated efforts, and in the end there will be cause for regret. It is the fatigue of someone who insists without obtaining anything, because there is no one cooperating on the other side, and exhausts themselves in the attempt. The will wears out. Be careful: if a person, a company, a door does not open despite your attempts, perhaps the problem is not the push but the direction. Stop, catch your breath, and ask yourself whether this is the road.

Fourth line

Fourth line: every cause for regret has passed. In the hunt you take game for its threefold use: for the sacrifice, for guests and for the household kitchen. A hunt that sufficed for all three purposes was considered a great success. It is the line of someone who, though without great means, stands in the right place and works under the protection of the leader: and so earns merit. If you have a good boss or a good partner, lean on that bond and produce: duty, relationships and the home will all benefit.

Fifth line

Fifth line: with firm correctness there will be good fortune; every regret disappears and all your movements will be advantageous. Perhaps the beginning was not good, but the end will be. The text gives a precious rule for anyone introducing changes: three days before, give notice of them; three days after, reconsider them. That is: prepare people, then check the effects and correct. If you are about to change a rule at the office or at home, do not do it abruptly. Warn, explain, apply, and then go back and check how it is going.

Sixth line

Sixth line: the representative of penetration is beneath the couch again, but has lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he tries to be, there will be misfortune. It is the excess of the Gentle: by adapting, searching, digging ever deeper, he has exhausted his strength and can no longer decide. Be careful: if you notice yourself investigating, brooding and pleasing everyone until you no longer know what you want, you have lost your axe. Recover the ability to say no, or you risk dissolving.

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