Hexagram 40: 解

jiě —release, relieve, discharge, resolve, liberate

By Augustin Chan · Last updated 2025

Upper TrigramThunder

Lower TrigramWater

Judgment

解jiěrelease, relieve, discharge, resolve, liberate

利lìworthwhile, rewarding, productive

西xīwest

南nánsouth

無wúwithout; (with, having) no; lacking; no-

所suǒa place, cause, reason, purpose; -where

往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead

其qíone's (own); the, this

來lái(up)coming, approaching, arriving, next

復fù(in) return, renewal, recovery, revision

吉jípromising, fortunate, opportune, timely

有yǒu(in, if) having; (if) there is, one has

攸yōusomewhere; (a) place, direction, purpose

往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead

夙sùto be early, prompt; dispatch; soon

吉jípromising, fortunate, opportune, timely

Deliverance. The southwest furthers. If there is no longer anything where one has to go, return brings good fortune. If there is still something where one has to go, hastening brings good fortune. Crisis resolved; either return to normalcy or advance quickly.

Image

雷léithunder

雨yǔrain

作zuòset (in, to); do (their) work; create

解jiěrelease

君jūnnoble, worthy, honored

子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple

以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus

赦shèforgives, pardons, lets go of

過guòtransgressions, excesses, extremes (and)

宥yòudeals leniently; (is) broad-minded; excuses

罪zuì(with, regarding) offenses, wrongs, violations

Thunder and rain set in: the image of Deliverance. Thus the superior man pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds. After the storm, the air clears; resentment dissolves.

Tech-Noir Artifact

The Matrix — EMP Bloom

The Wachowskis (1999)

Hexagram 40 (Deliverance) is the exhale after crisis. In The Matrix (AD 1999), the EMP collapses danger into silence; then you return to ordinary time—patch the hull, make coffee, move on. The Nebuchadnezzar hovercraft carries one weapon against the sentinel machines: an electromagnetic pulse that kills everything electronic within range, including the ship's own systems. Crisis moment: sentinels breach the hull, seconds from killing the crew. Morpheus triggers the EMP. Instant silence. The machines drop, lifeless. The ship goes dark. Danger resolved—but now you're adrift with no power, no defenses, surrounded by machine wreckage in the tunnels beneath the dead world. Deliverance isn't triumph, it's release from immediate peril followed by return to mundane necessity. You survived. Now patch the electromagnetic shielding, restart the auxiliary systems, clear the debris, resume the mission. Thunder and rain clear the air; nature returns to normal flow. The EMP is thunder—violent, brief, resolving tension. What follows is ordinary time: repair work, navigation, the continued resistance against the Matrix. Not a turning point in the war, just one crew surviving one encounter by collapsing crisis into stillness, then carrying on.

Historical Context

Period: Zhou Dynasty
Oracle Bone Etymology: Thunder (☳) above, Water (☵) below—movement breaking through danger, resolving the obstacle.
Traditional Use: Wilhelm: 'Deliverance. The southwest furthers. If there is no longer anything where one has to go, return brings good fortune. If there is still something where one has to go, hastening brings good fortune.' Resolve the crisis, then either return to normal or move forward swiftly.

Lines

Line 1: 無咎

無wúno; nothing; no harm done

咎jiùblame; (is) wrong; making v mistakes

Line 2: 田獲三狐得黃矢貞吉

田tián(in) (a, the) field; (on) (a, the) hunt

獲huò(and) take, trap, capture, catch (s, ing)

三sānthree; a third

狐húfoxes; fox

得déearn, accept, receive, win, get, claim (ing)

黃huánga, the golden, yellow

矢shǐarrow(s)

貞zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve, focus

吉jípromising, auspicious, opportune, timely

Line 3: 負且乘致寇至吝

負fùshouldering, carrying baggage, (a) burden

且qiěwhile, and yet, but (also, now), in addition to

乘chéngmounted; riding (a horse, mount, carriage)

致zhìinviting, encouraging, permitting

寇kòuthieves, robbers, plunderers, predators

至zhìto approach, arrive, come (up)

貞zhēnpersistence; to persist, keep going

吝lìn(is) embarrassing, humiliating, shameful

Line 4: 解而拇朋至斯孚

解jiěrelease, relax, let go, untangle, loosen

而éryour

拇mǔbig toe

朋péng(when) companion, ally, friend, associate (s)

至zhìapproach, arrive, come (up)

斯sī(in, on) them, this

孚fútrust, believe, rely; have faith, confidence v

Line 5: 君子維有解吉有孚于小人

君jūnnoble, worthy, honored

子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple (even)

維wéiin bondage; restrained, confined, tied up

有yǒu(still, yet) has, holds, possesses, owns, retains

解jiěfreedom(s), liberty(ies), relief, solutions

吉jípromising, auspicious, opportune, hopeful

有yǒubeing, hold(s, ing), staying; having, finding

孚fútrue, sincere, confident, assured; truth, etc.

于yúfor; in, with, amidst, among, above

小xiǎo(the) small, ordinary, lesser, common

人rénones, people, individuals, folk

Line 6: 公用射隼于高墉之上獲之無不利

公gōng(the) duke, prince, lord, patriarch, high noble

用yòngtakes, makes, tries

射shè(his) aim at, (a) shot at

隼sǔn(a, the) bird of prey, raptor, hawk, falcon

于yúup on, upon, on, atop

高gāo(a, the) high, tall, lofty

墉yōngbattlement, rampart, (fortified) wall

之zhī...'s

上shàngpeak, top, summit, height, apex, pinnacle

獲huò(to) succeed(ing); (a) success, capture, catch

之zhī(is) here; (at, in, with) this (is, means)

無wúwithout; (there is) nothing

不bùdoubt; (that) (is) not; (which) cannot be

利lìworthwhile, (turned to) advantage(ous)

Practical Guidance

Thunder and water. Crisis collapsed into silence. Then: ordinary time resumes. The Nebuchadnezzar under attack. Sentinels breach the electromagnetic shielding, seconds from killing the crew. One option remains: trigger the EMP. Morpheus pulls the lever. Electromagnetic pulse blooms outward. Sentinels drop dead. Ship's systems die. Instant silence. This is deliverance—not victory, not safety. Just: immediate danger resolved. The thing about to kill you stopped. Thunder breaks through water; the obstacle dissolves. Now patch the hull, restart auxiliary power, navigate back to Zion. Crisis over; maintenance begins. Hexagram 40 teaches post-crisis assessment. 'If there is no longer anything where one has to go, return brings good fortune.' Crisis resolved, nothing urgent remaining? Return to base, repair, rest. 'If there is still something where one has to go, hastening brings good fortune.' Mission incomplete? Move forward quickly while the opening exists. The Nebuchadnezzar crew returns. Not heroic, just necessary. The EMP bought time to resume ordinary operations. Here's what people miss: deliverance creates psychological temptation to inflate survival into narrative climax. 'We defeated the enemy! Turning point! Victory!' No. You collapsed one danger into silence. The war continues. The Matrix still runs. Zion still besieged. You just didn't die this time. Thunder cleared the air; now resume ordinary work. The classical text: 'Thunder and rain set in; thus the superior man pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds.' Storm breaks tension, washes things clean. Don't maintain emergency psychology after crisis resolves. The Nebuchadnezzar crew doesn't relitigate who should have noticed sentinels earlier. Crisis over; move on. The EMP is not strategy. It's emergency release—collapse crisis so you live to fight another day. One crew survived one attack using their one-time weapon. Good. Thunder and rain clear the air. Tension released. Opening created. Either return to normal or advance swiftly. Don't linger in resolved crisis, analyzing it, celebrating it. It was just: the thing that was going to kill you stopped. Exhale. Continue.

Transformations

When changing lines appear in a reading, this hexagram can transform into another.

37The Family6 changinglines 9Small Taming5 changinglines 13Fellowship5 changinglines 22Grace5 changinglines 42Increase5 changinglines 53Development5 changinglines 63After Completion5 changinglines 1The Creative4 changinglines

Get an interactive reading with this hexagram

Try the Oracle →