A spring at the foot of a mountain: fresh water that does not yet know its course. Meng is about not knowing yet, and about learning. It speaks to the student and to the teacher. Inexperience is not a fault if it seeks guidance sincerely; the problem is impatience, disrespect and asking the same question until you hear what you want.
Judgment
蒙：亨。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。初筮告，再三瀆，瀆則不告。利貞。
Immaturity: success. I do not go looking for the inexperienced youth; the youth comes looking for me. The first consultation is answered. A second or third is an affront, and an affront gets no answer. Steadfastness is favorable.
Image
山下出泉，蒙；君子以果行育德。
A spring wells up below the mountain: immaturity. Taking this as a model, the noble one acts with resolve and nurtures virtue.
- Learning and teaching
- Inexperience
- Sincere inquiry
- Discipline in growth
- Seeking guidance
- learning
- teacher
- student
- humility
- clarity
- discipline
- Accept that you do not yet know, and learn.
- Ask sincerely once; repeating the question clouds the answer.
- Growth needs both openness and discipline.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Six at the beginning 初六
Line text
發蒙，利用刑人，用說桎梏，以往吝。
Clearing away immaturity: favorable to use punishments, and favorable to remove the shackles. Going on like this: regret.
Structure is needed at the start of learning, but discipline must serve growth, not become a cage. Strict where it helps, then release.
- Discipline in learning
- Removing constraints
- Discipline that turns into punishment
- Clear rules that make real progress possible
Line 2Nine in the second place 九二
Line text
包蒙吉，納婦吉，子克家。
Embracing the immature: good fortune. Taking a wife: good fortune. The son can manage the household.
Patience and generosity toward the inexperienced bring out the best in them. This line describes a mature person who can carry responsibility and include others.
- Patience with others
- Maturity and responsibility
- Impatience with beginners
- Being the steady presence others learn from
Line 3Six in the third place 六三
Line text
勿用取女，見金夫，不有躬，无攸利。
Do not take this woman: she sees a man of gold and loses hold of herself. Nothing is favorable.
Being dazzled by wealth, status or charm leads to losing yourself. The line warns against throwing away your integrity for something glittering.
- Losing oneself
- Being dazzled
- Giving up integrity for status or glamour
- Recognizing what you actually value
Line 4Six in the fourth place 六四
Line text
困蒙，吝。
Immaturity hemmed in: regret.
Clinging to fantasies, far from anyone who could help, leads to embarrassment. Sometimes the only teacher left is the consequence itself.
- Stuck in illusion
- Isolation from guidance
- Refusing reality checks
- Learning from the consequences
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
童蒙，吉。
Childlike innocence: good fortune.
Openness without pretension is a strength. Someone who asks sincerely and is willing to learn receives the help they need.
- Beginner's mind
- Openness
- Pretending to know
- Receiving help by asking honestly
Line 6Nine at the top 上九
Line text
擊蒙，不利為寇，利禦寇。
Striking at immaturity. Not favorable to act as a raider; favorable to ward off raiders.
Sometimes folly must be corrected firmly, but punishment should prevent harm rather than inflict it. Firmness is legitimate as protection, not as aggression.
- Firm correction
- Protection rather than punishment
- Harshness that becomes its own wrong
- Setting a clear boundary that prevents harm
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
Meng shows a spring emerging under a mountain: the water is clear and full of energy but has no channel yet. The reading may suggest a situation in which you, or someone else, lacks experience, and in which the right relationship to learning matters more than having answers.
The judgment is famous for its remark about divination itself: the first answer is given, but asking again and again is disrespectful and gets no reply. That applies to any guidance. Hear what you were told before looking for a different answer. In relation to a question, Meng may emphasize humility, finding a good teacher or method, and committing to steady practice rather than shortcuts.