Hexagram 12 of 64
Obstruction
否 Pǐ
Upper trigram: 乾 Qián, heaven
Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
The judgment
否之匪人，不利君子貞，大往小來。
Obstruction is the work of the wrong people. It is not fitting for the noble person to hold firm. The great goes and the small comes.
The Great Image
天地不交，否；君子以儉德辟難，不可榮以祿。
Heaven and earth do not join: Obstruction. In the same way, the noble person keeps character restrained to avoid hardship and cannot be honored with a salary.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
拔茅茹以其彙，貞吉。亨。
Pulling up cogon grass with its tangled roots, each with its kind. Holding firm brings good fortune. Success.
The same roots come up together here, in a bad season. Consider who you could stay in close, quiet agreement with until conditions change.
Line 2 六二
包承，小人吉，大人否。亨。
Bearing and complying. For the petty person, good fortune. For the great person, obstruction. Success.
Flattery and going along may pay off for the petty, and the great person takes the blockage instead. Ask what you would be agreeing to if you went along.
Line 3 六三
包羞。
Bearing shame.
The line is two characters: bearing shame. Consider what you are carrying in silence, and whether it is yours to carry.
Line 4 九四
有命，无咎，疇離祉。
There is a mandate. No blame. Companions share in the blessing.
A command comes and the people of your kind share in it. Ask whether a first sign of change is something you could act on with others.
Line 5 九五
休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，繫于包桑。
The obstruction rests. For the great person, good fortune. It may be lost, it may be lost. Tie it to the clump of mulberry.
The line says it may be lost and ties it to a clump of mulberry whose roots hold. Consider what you could fasten your own position to while things are unsure.
Line 6 上九
傾否，先否後喜。
The obstruction topples. First obstruction, then joy.
The blockage tips over, and the line sets the order: first obstruction, then joy. Ask what one push from you could help a stale situation to fall.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is earth below and heaven above. Heaven rises and earth sinks, so the two pull apart and nothing passes between them. It is the reverse of the hexagram before it.
The judgment says the wrong people are in the way and that it is a poor time for the noble person to hold firm. The great goes and the small comes. Ask what you would do if your usual effort could not get through for a while.
If your question is about a blocked career or a stuck relationship, tradition reads this as a time to keep your standards, keep a low profile and refuse tempting offers from those in charge. The lines show the obstruction ending by stages, so look for signs of change without forcing them.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/否), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the fifth line, Wikisource reads 包桑 and Project Gutenberg reads 苞桑. 苞 means a dense clump, the sense followed here.
- Wikisource keeps 包 in the second, third and fifth lines and notes that it is also written 苞. 包 means to wrap or bear.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.