Hexagram 40 Jie - Complete Guide Part 2: The Six Lines and the Stages of Deliverance
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 40 Jie - Complete Guide Part 2: The Six Lines and the Stages of Deliverance
The six lines of Jie trace the process of untying complex knots in human affairs. The journey begins with the relief of basic survival, moves through the elimination of parasitic influences, warns against carrying old baggage into new freedom, and culminates in a legendary, surgical strike against the final hidden obstacle. It is an extraordinary manual for post-crisis recovery.
Line 1 — Six at the Bottom: Rest and No Blame
Without blame.
The first line of Jie is the simplest in the entire hexagram. The person has just crossed the boundary out of danger (Kan) into the initial relief of deliverance. The storm has passed. The line offers no complex instructions, only the verdict: "Without blame." In the immediate aftermath of a crisis, the only correct action is rest. You do not need to do anything grand. Simply catching your breath, resting without guilt, and recovering your baseline equilibrium is completely blameless and correct.
- Stage: Immediate relief following a crisis
- Action: Rest quietly; do not rush into new activity; allow your nervous system to recover
- Wisdom: Without blame — rest after survival is a moral necessity
Line 2 — Nine in the Second Place: The Fox and the Golden Arrow
One kills three foxes in the field and receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.
The second line describes the first active duty of deliverance: clearing out corruption. Foxes represent cunning, flattering, or deceitful people who thrive during a crisis by manipulating both sides. The strong, centered person of Line 2 hunts down these deceptive influences ("kills three foxes"). In doing so, they receive the "yellow arrow." Yellow is the color of the golden mean (balance and truth); the arrow represents straightness and precision. By removing flatterers and upholding straight, honest principles, perseverance brings good fortune.
- Stage: Clearing out parasites and flatterers left over from the crisis
- Action: Deal firmly and precisely with dishonest actors; do not tolerate deceit
- Wisdom: Good fortune — integrity and straightness (the yellow arrow) cleanse the environment
Line 3 — Six in the Third Place: The Porter in the Carriage
If a man carries a burden on his back and nonetheless rides in a carriage, he thereby encourages robbers to draw near. Perseverance brings humiliation.
The third line contains a famous I Ching warning against inappropriate elevation and pretending to be something you are not. A porter belongs on foot carrying loads, while a dignitary rides in a carriage. If an uncouth porter manages to get into a carriage but still insists on carrying a dirty sack on his back, he attracts the immediate attention of highway robbers.
In times of deliverance, resources and positions often open up rapidly. If an unqualified or petty person grabs a high position they cannot handle, or if you carry old, impoverished habits into a new era of freedom, you invite catastrophe. Continuing in this pretension brings humiliation.
- Stage: Inappropriate elevation; carrying peasant baggage into noble spaces
- Action: Match your status with actual competence; drop outdated, petty behaviors
- Wisdom: Humiliation — pretension in times of freedom paints a target on your back
Line 4 — Nine in the Fourth Place: Loosening the Great Toe
Deliver yourself from your great toe. Then the companion comes, and someone you can trust.
The fourth line describes the necessity of cutting toxic ties. The "great toe" represents the lowest, basest habits or the petty, codependent relationships formed during the hardship of the past (connecting down to Line 1). While those connections may have helped you survive the mud of the crisis, staying tied to them now prevents you from stepping into your true future. You must "deliver yourself from your great toe"—sever the lower, draining entanglements. Once you let them go, noble companions whom you can truly trust will naturally arrive to join your journey.
- Stage: Severing lower-level codependencies and outdated alliances
- Action: Cut ties with toxic or draining companions; raise your relational standards
- Wisdom: Releasing the low creates space for true, trustworthy companions to enter
Line 5 — Six in the Fifth Place: The Leader Breaks Free
If only the superior man can deliver himself, it brings good fortune. Thus he shows the inferior man that he is in earnest.
The fifth line, the ruler's position, describes leadership during deliverance. The leader wants to liberate everyone, but petty, corrupt elements (the "inferior men") cling to power. How does the leader dislodge them? Not by arguing or lecturing, but by demonstrating personal deliverance. The leader cuts off their own entanglements, rejects compromises, and lives with absolute moral clarity. When the inferior people see that the leader is "in earnest" and cannot be bought or manipulated, they naturally scatter. Deliverance begins at the top.
- Stage: Radical personal integrity setting the standard for the group
- Action: Model total liberation yourself; do not compromise with petty forces
- Wisdom: Good fortune — demonstrating inner earnestness dissolves external corruption
Line 6 — Six at the Top: Shooting the Hawk on the High Wall
The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He hits it. Everything serves to further.
The supreme line of Jie offers one of the most triumphant martial images in the I Ching. The crisis is almost entirely resolved, but one final, dangerous obstacle remains: a predatory hawk perched high on a city wall. The hawk represents the hidden, entrenched instigator of evil who thinks they are out of reach.
The prince does not panic or launch an army; he patiently prepares his bow, aims with absolute precision, and shoots the predator dead in a single shot. This removes the very last impediment to total peace. With the final predator eliminated, everything serves to further.
- Stage: The final, surgical removal of entrenched obstruction
- Action: Aim with flawless precision; eliminate the last core problem cleanly
- Wisdom: Everything furthers — true deliverance concludes with decisive, accurate closure
The Complete Journey: A Summary
- Line 1: Immediate relief — rest quietly without guilt; no blame.
- Line 2: Clearing corruption — hunting the deceitful foxes with the straight golden arrow.
- Line 3: The porter in the carriage — avoid pretension and drop old poverty mindsets.
- Line 4: Releasing the toe — cutting ties with low-level companions to invite true allies.
- Line 5: Leading by example — personal liberation forces inferior elements to scatter.
- Line 6: The hawk on the wall — the final, surgical shot that secures lasting liberation.
What Is Next in This Series
- Part 1: The Symbol and Structure
- Part 2 (This Article): The Six Lines — Complete Line-by-Line Commentary
- Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Jie in Practice
- Part 4: Philosophy — Deliverance in Confucian, Taoist, and Legal Thought
- Part 5: Practical Applications — Post-Crisis Management, Pardon, Swift Recovery
- Part 6: Modern Interpretations — Nervous System Reset, Trauma Release, Conflict De-escalation
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