EN (English)
䷴
Hexagram 53 of 64
Development
漸 · Jiàn
A tree growing on a mountain, slowly and in place. The hexagram is about gradual development, told through six stages of a wild goose's journey inland.
gradual progress
patience
development
stages
- King Wen number
- 53 of 64
- Above
- ☴ Xùn · Wind
- Below
- ☶ Gèn · Mountain
- Composition
- Wind over Mountain
- Lines, bottom to top
- Broken · broken · solid · broken · solid · solid
- Chinese
- 漸 · Jiàn
The Judgment
The maiden is given in marriage. Good fortune. It rewards holding to the course.
A wedding is the classic's model of a process with proper stages. Nothing about it can be usefully hurried.
The Image
A tree on the mountain: Development. So the noble person dwells in worth and character, and thereby improves the customs.
Influence on a whole culture is placed under this hexagram deliberately. It is the slowest thing there is.
What it means
Jian is development by stages, and the classic tells it through a wild goose moving inland: shore, rock, plateau, tree, summit, and finally the heights. Each line is one stage, and the sequence cannot be reordered.
The hexagram is paired in the book with a wedding, which in the Zhou period was a sequence of formal steps taken over months. That is the model being offered. A process with stages is not slow because it is inefficient; the stages are what make the result hold.
The third line is what happens when the sequence is broken. The goose has gone up onto the plateau, out of its proper progression, and the images are all of things started and not finished: a man who goes out and does not return, a pregnancy that does not come to term. Advancing out of order produces incompletion rather than speed.
The fifth line is the classic at its most patient. Three years at the summit with nothing happening, and then the flat statement that in the end nothing can prevent it. And the top line ends with the goose's feathers used in the sacred dance, which is the book's gentle way of saying that what a long development leaves behind outlasts the developer.
In a reading
Development as an answer says the matter will progress and it will progress in stages. It is favourable and it is not fast.
Its counsel is to take the next stage rather than the final one, and to resist skipping. If there is a long delay, the fifth line is worth holding onto: three years of nothing, and the outcome arrives anyway.
The six lines
Read a line's text only when the cast made it a moving line. They are listed from the top of the figure down, the way the hexagram is drawn.
-
Nine at the top
The wild goose draws near the cloud heights. Its feathers can be used in the sacred dance. Good fortune.
The end of the ascent. What is left behind becomes part of the ceremony.
-
Nine in the fifth place
The wild goose draws near the summit. For three years the woman has no child. In the end nothing can prevent it. Good fortune.
A long delay at the highest point, and then the outcome arrives regardless. The classic's most patient line.
-
Six in the fourth place
The wild goose draws near the tree. Perhaps it finds a flat branch. No blame.
A goose in a tree is out of its element. The line finds a workable perch anyway.
-
Nine in the third place
The wild goose draws near the plateau. The man goes out and does not return; the woman conceives and does not bring the child to term. Misfortune. It helps to fend off raiders.
Advancing too far, out of the sequence. The images are of things begun and not completed.
-
Six in the second place
The wild goose draws near the rock. Eating and drinking in peace. Good fortune.
Secure footing and shared plenty. The line adds that the good is meant to be shared.
-
Six at the beginning
The wild goose draws near the shore. The young one is in danger. There is talk. No blame.
The first landing, exposed and criticised. The classic dismisses the criticism.
Related figures
Latest Posts
Discover the ancient wisdom of tarot cards and unlock the mysteries of your spiritual journey. Our blog is your gateway to understanding the rich symbolism, meanings, and practical applications of tarot reading.
