Hexagram 20 of 64
Observation
觀 Guān
Upper trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
Lower trigram: 坤 Kūn, earth
The judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Hands washed, the offering not yet laid out. There is trust, grave and dignified.
The Great Image
風行地上，觀；先王以省方，觀民設教。
Wind moves over the earth: Observation. In the same way, the former kings inspected the regions, observed the people and set up teaching.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
童觀，小人无咎，君子吝。
Looking as a child looks. For the petty person, no blame. For the noble person, shame.
A child looks without understanding and no one minds, and the line holds an adult to more. Ask where you are still looking at something in a simpler way than your position allows.
Line 2 六二
窺觀，利女貞。
Looking through a crack. It is fitting for a woman to hold firm.
A crack in a door shows a narrow slice of the room, and the old text ties this to women, whose world then ran behind doors. Consider whose view is limited by where they have been made to stand, your own included.
Line 3 六三
觀我生，進退。
Looking at my own life. Advancing and withdrawing.
Here the looking turns inward, and the two words that follow are forward and back. Before you choose either, you could look at what your own recent actions have actually produced.
Line 4 六四
觀國之光，利用賓于王。
Observing the splendor of the state. It is fitting to be a guest of the king.
A guest of the king saw how a state really ran. Consider whether you could go and see the best example of your field up close and learn what you can as a visitor.
Line 5 九五
觀我生，君子无咎。
Looking at my own life. For the noble person, no blame.
Someone in the place of most authority looks at their own life, since others are already looking at it. Ask what people would learn about your values by watching what you do.
Line 6 上九
觀其生，君子无咎。
Looking at their life. For the noble person, no blame.
At the very top, the gaze moves to another person. Consider what you could learn from watching someone else without judging them by your own measure.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is earth below and wind above, with two solid lines looking down over four broken ones. Wind passes over the ground and touches everything on it. It stands for looking carefully and for being looked at.
The judgment pictures the moment in a rite after the hands are washed and before the offering is made, when everyone present is still and attentive. The Chinese stops at that pause. Ask what would change if you gave something your full attention before doing anything about it.
If your question is about leadership, a public role or a decision you keep circling, tradition reads this as a time to study the situation and your own part in it. The lines climb from a child's glance to a wide view, and the low ones caution that a narrow look is forgivable only for so long.
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/觀), 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.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.