Hexagram 47 Kun, Lake over Water: Confinement Meaning and Message
Hexagram 47 is about hard stretches when resources run out and words fall flat, and how to keep your resolve. Here are its classical text, six lines, and what it may say about love, work, money and health.
Contents
Hexagram 47, Lake over Water: Confinement (Kun), is the 47th of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. It is made of Dui (lake) above and Kan (water) below, and it speaks about times when resources run dry and every side feels limited, and how to hold yourself together until a change arrives.
Hexagram 47 (Kun) at a Glance
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Number | 47 of 64 |
| Name | Lake over Water: Confinement (Kun) |
| Image | ☱ over ☵ (a lake with no water in it) |
| Inner (lower) trigram | Kan ☵, water |
| Outer (upper) trigram | Dui ☱, lake |
| Element | Metal (belongs to the Dui house) |
| Key phrase | Success; steadfast, good fortune for the great person; when one speaks, one is not believed |
| Yang lines | 3 of 6 |
| Opposite hexagram (every line flipped) | Hexagram 22, Mountain over Fire: Adornment (Bi) |
| Inverted hexagram (turned upside down) | Hexagram 48, Water over Wind: The Well (Jing) |
The Original Text and Its Meaning
This part gives the classical wording of Hexagram 47 in English, with a plain explanation. If you only care about how the hexagram applies to daily life, feel free to skim it and jump to the later sections.
The Judgment
Confinement: success. Steadfast, good fortune for the great person, no fault. When one speaks, one is not believed.
In plain words: "Kun" means being hemmed in, yet the text still says "success". Staying on the right path is good fortune for a person of stature, and there is no fault. The last sentence, "when one speaks, one is not believed", is the most unusual part of this hexagram. In a time of confinement, even when you are right, your words lose their power to persuade. So the advice is not to keep explaining yourself, and to let action and time do the proving.
The Image
The lake has no water: Confinement. In the same way, the noble person stakes his life to follow his will.
In plain words: a lake without water is the hexagram of Confinement. The noble person follows this image by accepting the circumstances and staying true to their purpose. The picture of a dried-up lake is direct: the outline of a lake remains but there is no water in it. Someone in a time of Confinement is the same, still present while resources are used up. The Image does not tell you to refill everything right away. It tells you to hold on to your resolve: admit that the environment is hard, and do not give up.
The Six Lines
The six lines of Kun describe six different degrees of being stuck, from light to heavy, and then a way out. Read from the bottom up: line 1 is at the bottom, line 6 at the top.
| Line | Classical text | Plain meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 (six at the beginning) | Confined to the stump of a tree, he enters a gloomy valley and for three years sees no one. | Stuck beside a stump and wandering into a dark valley, seeing nobody for three years |
| Line 2 (nine in the second place) | Confined with wine and food; the red knee-bands are just arriving. It is favorable to offer sacrifices. Setting out brings misfortune; no fault. | Hemmed in amid plenty, with recognition about to arrive. It suits an act of offering, while setting out to fight is unlucky, but there is no fault |
| Line 3 (six in the third place) | Confined by a rock, he leans on thorns and brambles. He enters his house and does not see his wife. Misfortune. | Blocked by a stone, leaning on thorns and coming home to find no one there, which is unlucky |
| Line 4 (nine in the fourth place) | He comes slowly, slowly, confined by a golden carriage. Humiliation, but there is an end. | Arriving slowly, held back by a grand carriage; a pity, but it comes to an end |
| Line 5 (nine in the fifth place) | Nose and feet cut off, confined by the red knee-bands. Slowly there is joy. It is favorable to offer sacrifices. | Cut off from several sides and bound by a high rank, though joy comes slowly. It suits an act of offering |
| Line 6 (six at the top) | Confined by creeping vines, on a shaky and unsteady spot. He says, "Moving brings regret." If there is regret, setting out brings good fortune. | Tangled in vines on shaky ground and thinking that any move leads to regret; but once the regret is felt, going forward is good |
Reading the Six Lines in Everyday Terms
The six lines of Hexagram 47 are six ways a person can end up stuck, from being isolated and bound by appearances to tying yourself up out of fear. Here is each line in everyday language.
Line 1: Wandering into the dark, with no one knowing where you are. You are stuck at the lowest position, with no support and no clear way out. It is like being new in an unfamiliar place without knowing anyone, or having just lost a job and not knowing where to restart. "Three years without seeing anyone" is a way of saying a long stretch of loneliness. There is no shortcut through this stage. It mostly takes patience and time for your eyes to adjust to the dark.
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Line 2: Stuck amid plenty, waiting for the right moment. You do not lack material comfort, but you are stuck because you have not yet met the right person or the right timing. An opportunity is on its way ("the red knee-bands are just arriving") but has not reached your hands. The line advises against rushing into a big move and suggests holding on to sincerity and patience. Charging out now tends to meet a bad result. Someone who knows how to wait is more likely to receive what they need.
Line 3: Pushing yourself into a dead end. This is the harshest line of the hexagram, because it is about being stuck by choosing the wrong method. You lean on something thorny and take it for support. You push against a rock thinking you can move it. You come home and even your loved ones are not there. The line describes someone in a bind who picks the wrong way out: relying on unreliable people, believing in unrealistic promises or forcing a situation that is already broken.
Line 4: Wanting to help but short of strength. You see someone who needs help while you are stuck yourself. Think of a manager who wants to raise a team member's pay but has no budget, or a family member who wants to support the household while their own money is tight. A result will come, but slowly, and with some regret because it misses the moment. This stage asks you to accept your own limits instead of carrying a load beyond your strength.
Line 5: Holding power, yet still bound. You are in a high position but not free to act. Think of a manager held back by rules, or someone with a title but no real authority. The picture of "nose and feet cut off" describes pressure from several sides. But the line also says joy comes slowly. For someone who keeps sincerity at this position, time tends to loosen the bonds bit by bit. Try not to cut everything off in a hurry.
Line 6: Tying yourself up for fear of being wrong. This is the last line, where the confinement comes from inside, not outside. Vines are wrapped around your feet, you stand on shaky ground and you think that any move will lead to regret. But the hexagram's conclusion is the opposite: once the regret is felt, going forward is good. If you stay still for fear of a mistake, the stuck feeling never ends. What helps is one small step, even a trembling one, but a step.
What Hexagram 47 May Say About Everyday Life
Love
Casting Confinement on a love question often points to a relationship in a stage where things are hard to say. The two of you may still be together but feel distant, with nothing you say getting through. The Judgment's "when one speaks, one is not believed" fits romance well: the more you explain, the more the other person doubts. Instead of insisting on being heard, it may help to let your actions do the proving. Staying quiet at the right moment sometimes holds more than a hundred words.
Career
On career, Hexagram 47 leans toward being stuck, short of resources or short of recognition. You may be doing the right things with nobody noticing, or working hard with results not showing yet. This is not a time to expand, make a large investment or jump ship. It may be better to hold your position, cut costs and focus on what you can control. The Image's "stake his life to follow his will" reminds you that a hard stretch is not a reason to give up, but a chance to prove you really want the thing.
Money
On money, Confinement suggests income may be shrinking, or spending may be higher than income. This is a time to tighten the belt and to avoid borrowing and risky investments. Money may come slowly, but it is not that it will not come. Line 4 says "humiliation, but there is an end", which means it will come back, just not as fast as you hope. Whoever keeps a clear head in this period tends to have the steadiest base when the tide turns.
Health
On health, Confinement is about running low on energy: a body or mind that has gone a long time without being refilled. The picture of a lake with no water is like being short of rest, short of supplies or having a low mood that drags down your strength. The priority now is recovery, not pushing on: sleep a little more, eat properly, ease off the pressure from work and find someone to talk with if you have felt lonely for long. Try not to carry it alone.
Closing Thought: When Confined, Hold On to Your Resolve
What is most interesting is how the I Ching handles the word "confinement". The hexagram does not say "get out quickly". It says "hold on to your resolve". The Image states it plainly: accept the circumstances and stay true to your purpose. In other words, hard times pass, and what remains afterward is not luck but a will that has been tested. Whoever walks through Confinement and keeps hold of themselves does not need to explain anything more.