Hexagram 40 of 64
Release
解 Xiè
Upper trigram: 震 Zhèn, thunder
Lower trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
The judgment
利西南，无所往，其來復吉。有攸往，夙吉。
The southwest is fitting. With nowhere to go, coming back brings good fortune. With somewhere to go, being early brings good fortune.
The Great Image
雷雨作，解；君子以赦過宥罪。
Thunder and rain break out: Release. In the same way, the noble person lets errors go and excuses offenses.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
无咎。
No blame.
This line has only the words no blame. When a difficulty has just eased, consider allowing a quiet moment before you do anything else.
Line 2 九二
田獲三狐，得黃矢，貞吉。
Hunting in the field, three foxes are caught and a yellow arrow is gained. Holding firm brings good fortune.
Foxes stood for cunning and a yellow arrow for a straight course. If you have been clearing away small deceptions, ask whether you can do it by straight means.
Line 3 六三
負且乘，致寇至，貞吝。
Carrying a load on the back while riding in a carriage invites robbers to come. Holding firm brings shame.
A porter riding in a carriage with his bundle on his back draws the eye of thieves. Ask whether anything you have recently acquired is showing more than it should.
Line 4 九四
解而拇，朋至斯孚。
Release your big toe. When friends arrive, then there is trust.
The big toe is a small part of a step, and here it has to come loose before friends can reach you. Consider what minor habit or tie might be keeping away the people you trust.
Line 5 六五
君子惟有解，吉；有孚于小人。
Only the noble person can release. Good fortune. There is trust toward the petty person.
Even the petty person here is brought into trust. Ask whether you could let go of a grudge first and see how the other side responds.
Line 6 上六
公用射隼，于高墉之上，獲之，无不利。
The duke shoots at a hawk on top of a high wall and catches it. Nothing is unfavorable.
The hawk sits on a high wall in plain view, and one clean shot brings it down. If a single obstacle is keeping a matter from being settled, consider whether it is time to address it directly.
What this hexagram says
Water below, thunder above: a storm has broken and the air clears. It stands for the easing of a tension and the freeing of what was stuck.
The judgment gives two cases: if nothing more needs doing, go back to your ordinary life, and if something still needs doing, do it early. The image adds pardon for mistakes. Ask which case you are in, and what you could forgive now that the pressure is off.
If your question is about the end of a dispute, a hard period at work or a long strain between people, tradition reads this as a time to settle up and move on. The third line is a caution against showing off gains made too quickly. The fifth suggests that letting go of old complaints may work better than more argument.
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/解), 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 (A) reads 惟 and notes that another text has 維, which is what Project Gutenberg (B) reads. Both are used here as the same word, only.
- In the top line, Wikisource (A) keeps 墉 (wall) and notes that another text has 庸.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.