Hexagram 47 · Line 1
Oppression — 初六
Kun Oppression · Chu Liu
初六 · Chu Liu
The Line
One sits oppressed under a bare tree and comes into a dark valley. For three years one sees nothing.
Interpretation
When one comes into distress, it is above all important to be strong and overcome the distress inwardly. But if one is weak, then distress overwhelms one. Instead of continuing forward, one remains sitting under a bare tree and comes ever more into darkness and melancholy. Thereby the situation becomes only more and more hopeless. This attitude is the consequence of an inner blindness that one must absolutely overcome.