Hexagram 48
The WellJǐng 井
Also translated as Replenishing, The Source.
Water above Wind / Wood below
A wooden bucket draws water up from deep in the earth. Jing is the well, a lasting source of nourishment that everyone can use, unchanged as towns and rulers come and go. It speaks of deep, shared resources: human nature, wisdom, community, tradition. The source is always there, but it must be maintained, and the rope must reach all the way down.
Judgment
井：改邑不改井，无喪无得，往來井井。汔至，亦未繘井，羸其瓶，凶。
The well. Towns are moved, but wells are not. Nothing is lost and nothing gained. People come and go, drawing water at the well. If the rope stops just short of the water, or the pitcher cracks, misfortune.
Image
木上有水，井；君子以勞民勸相。
Water rising over wood: the well. Taking this as a model, the noble one cheers on the people in their labor and urges them to support each other.
- A lasting source
- Shared resources
- Maintenance and care
- Reaching the depths
- Mutual help
- source
- depth
- nourishment
- community
- maintenance
- renewal
- The deepest resources are constant and shared.
- A source must be maintained to be useful.
- Go all the way down; half-measures don't reach the water.
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
井泥不食，舊井无禽。
The well is mud; no one drinks. At an old well, not even birds come.
Neglected, the source has become murky and useless, and people stop coming. Something needs to be cleaned up and renewed.
- Neglect
- Loss of usefulness
- Letting your resources go stale
- Cleaning out what is muddy
Line 2Nine in the second place 九二
Line text
井谷射鮒，甕敝漏。
At the bottom of the well one shoots at minnows. The jar is cracked and leaks.
Good qualities are present but wasted on trivial things, and the means of sharing them is broken. The potential isn't reaching anyone.
- Wasted potential
- Broken means
- Spending talent on small things
- Repairing the means to share your gifts
Line 3Nine in the third place 九三
Line text
井渫不食，為我心惻，可用汲，王明，並受其福。
The well is cleaned, but no one drinks; this grieves my heart. It could be drawn from. If the king were clear-sighted, all would receive its blessing.
You are capable and ready, but your abilities go unused, which is painful. When someone with insight recognizes them, everyone will benefit.
- Unrecognized ability
- Waiting to be used
- Bitterness at being overlooked
- Recognition that benefits many
Line 4Six in the fourth place 六四
Line text
井甃，无咎。
The well is lined with brick. No blame.
A time for repair and maintenance: you can't serve others at the moment because you're improving yourself. This is necessary work.
- Repair and self-improvement
- Necessary pause
- Feeling guilty for taking time to rebuild
- Becoming a more reliable source
Line 5Nine in the fifth place 九五
Line text
井洌，寒泉食。
The well is clear; a cold spring to drink from.
The source is pure and available: real wisdom, real ability. Now it needs to be drawn up and used.
- Pure source
- Available wisdom
- Possessing good things without using them
- Nourishing others with what you have
Line 6Six at the top 上六
Line text
井收勿幕，有孚元吉。
The well is drawn from and not covered. There is sincerity: supreme good fortune.
The well is open to everyone and its water is freely given. Generosity and reliability make it a blessing for all.
- Open generosity
- Reliable source
- Covering the well, keeping it for yourself
- Being a source others can count on
Related hexagrams
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Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
Water above wood: the bucket bringing up water. The well is the image of something that outlasts every social change, the stable center around which life is organized. The reading may suggest drawing on deep, enduring resources: your own nature, a tradition, a community, a body of knowledge, rather than surface solutions.
The judgment contains a sharp warning: coming close to the water but failing at the last moment, because the rope is too short or the jug is broken, is a misfortune. Depth and follow-through matter. The image extends the well into society: people working together and helping one another. In relation to a question, Jing may emphasize looking deeper, maintaining what sustains you and sharing it.