Hexagram 15 of 64
Modesty
謙 (Qiān)
Modesty (qiān) — the mountain humbled beneath the earth
HumilityAs shown in classical I Ching texts
Composition
Upper Trigram
Receptive, yielding, nurturing — the power that receives and completes
Outer situation / environment
Lower Trigram
Still, keeping, meditative — the power of not-moving
Inner situation / your state
Interaction
Earth above Mountain — ground meeting peak. The outer energy of earth shapes the inner disposition of mountain.
Meaning
The mountain hides beneath the earth. True greatness is modest; humility brings lasting success.
Classical Judgment
“Modesty creates success. The superior one carries things through.”
The classical judgment is the original oracle text — the answer the I Ching gives when this hexagram appears.
The Image
Within the earth, a mountain. The superior one reduces that which is too much.
The Image is a nature scene associated with this hexagram — a symbolic picture that distils its essence. In classic texts, meditating on the Image was considered the proper way to absorb the hexagram's teaching.
Nuclear Hexagram
Lines 2–5 of this hexagram form an inner hexagram called the nuclear hexagram. It reveals the hidden seed or underlying dynamic within the situation — what lies at the core beneath the surface.
#40 — Hidden within
Deliverance
解 (Xiè) · Liberation
In a Reading
When hexagram 15 appears in your reading, the I Ching is drawing your attention to the quality of humility. Sit with the Image — “Within the earth, a mountain” — and consider how this pattern is playing out in your current situation. The Judgment offers the oracle’s direct guidance on how to move with this energy rather than against it.
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