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

Hexagram 40 digital 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.
Character Analysis
The character 解 (xiè) means to untie, release,解 dissolve. The EMP unties the knot: sentinels attacking → pulse fires → machines drop → danger dissolved. Then: return to ordinary operation (patch hull, restart systems) or move forward (navigate tunnels, return to Zion).
Energy State
Thunder above water—movement breaking through danger. The storm clears, tension released, ordinary flow restored.
Trigram Symbolism
☳ Thunder (Upper) - The Arousing, shock, sudden resolution ☵ Water (Lower) - The Abysmal, danger, perilous situation Deliverance through decisive action that dissolves the crisis.

Sources

Lines

Line 1: 無咎

無wúno
咎jiùblame

Line 2: 田獲三狐得黃矢貞吉

田tián(in) (a
獲huò(and) take
三sānthree
狐húfoxes
得déearn
黃huángthe golden
矢shǐarrow(s)
貞zhēnpersistence
吉jípromising

Line 3: 負且乘致寇至吝

負fùshouldering
且qiěwhile
乘chéngmounted
致zhìinviting
寇kòuthieves
至zhìto approach
貞zhēnpersistence
吝lìn(is) embarrassing

Line 4: 解而拇朋至斯孚

解jiěrelease
而éryour
拇mǔbig toe
朋péng(when) companion
至zhìapproach
斯sī(in
孚fútrust

Line 5: 君子維有解吉有孚于小人

君jūnnoble
子zǐyoung one
維wéiin bondage
有yǒu(still
解jiěfreedom(s)
吉jípromising
有yǒubeing
孚fútrue
于yúfor
小xiǎo(the) small
人rénones

Line 6: 公用射隼于高墉之上獲之無不利

公gōng(the) duke
用yòngtakes
射shè(his) aim at
隼sǔn(a
于yúup on
高gāo(a
墉yōngbattlement
之zhī...'s
上shàngpeak
獲huò(to) succeed(ing)
之zhī(is) here
無wúwithout
不bùdoubt
利lìworthwhile

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 changinglines9Small Taming5 changinglines13Fellowship5 changinglines22Grace5 changinglines42Increase5 changinglines53Development5 changinglines63After Completion5 changinglines1The Creative4 changinglines

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