Hexagram 52
Keeping Still
gèn
Reading it as a decision
Two mountains stacked make an image of complete stillness — nothing behind, nothing in front, movement stopped in every direction. The classical text describes stopping so thoroughly that you stop even noticing your own presence: walking through a courtyard without registering the people in it, attention withdrawn from what usually pulls at it. That's an unusual thing for a decision-facing text to recommend, but it's specific — this hexagram isn't describing paralysis, it's describing a deliberate halt, the kind that comes from choosing to stop rather than being stopped.
Classical line texts on this one land close to neutral, which fits: there isn't a strong signal yet pointing toward action in either direction, and the honest read is to hold off on committing rather than force a decision the situation hasn't earned. For now, though, the useful move is watching and waiting — gathering more to go on before you act.
The classical text
Judgment (卦辭)
艮，艮其背，不獲其身，行其庭，不見其人，無咎。
Stillness settles on the back where the body goes unnoticed; walking through the courtyard, even the people there go unseen - no fault.
The six lines (爻辭)
初六：艮其趾，無咎，利永貞。
Stillness begins at the toes - no fault, and fitting to hold this steadiness for the long run.
六二：艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。
Stillness reaches the calves, unable to help the leg it must follow - the heart feels unsettled.
九三：艮其限，列其夤，厲薰心。
Stillness locks the waist, straining the spine apart - the danger burns at the heart.
六四：艮其身，無咎。
Stillness spreads through the whole body - no fault.
六五：艮其輔，言有序，悔亡。
Stillness reaches the jaw, so words come out orderly - regret disappears.
上九：敦艮，吉。
Stillness made whole and solid throughout - fortunate.
This is a general reference, not a live reading — it doesn't know your situation. iYarrow casts a fresh hexagram for the actual question you're weighing.
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