Guān · Contemplation
Upper trigram: ☴ Wind · lower trigram: ☷ Earth
To observe and to be observed, as the wind passes over the earth. Make yourself worthy of others' gaze.
The archaic graph draws an immense eye placed above a watchtower, or a bird of prey gliding in the sky to take in the landscape at a single glance. It symbolises the change of scale in perception, the necessary step back for observing a situation in its entirety without intervening immediately.
Objective contemplation and panoramic vision
This hexagram corresponds to a phase of transition in which direct action must be suspended in favour of analysis and reflection. It is the archetypal situation of taking stock or of supervision: you must pull yourself out of the heat of action to understand the underlying dynamics of the moment. Your attitude serves as a model, like the tower that is seen from afar.
Broaden one's awareness and purify one's intentions
The strategy for success rests on breadth of view and impartiality. The text uses the metaphor of the ritual ablutions before the sacrifice: one must empty oneself, "unclog one's heart" of every emotional charge or prejudice. By changing your parameters of perception, you gain access to a vaster understanding that will guide your future choices.
Structurally, the figure superposes the trigram of Earth (Kun, inner receptivity) below, and the trigram of Wind (Xun, supple penetration, outward diffusion) above. The Wind blows over the Earth, travelling everywhere to observe its smallest corners. It is the image of discovery and of teaching. The challenge is to accept this phase of physical stillness in order to develop one's intelligence of things.
Each line is read only if it is changing in your cast. A changing line transforms the figure: the link under each text shows which hexagram it leads to.
Three-coin or yarrow-stalk cast, changing lines, outlook figure — computed on your device, no account.