I Ching Hexagram 40: Deliverance

Hexagram 40, Deliverance (Xiè, 解), is the I Ching's picture of release: what loosens after a hard stretch. The old image is thunder and rain arriving together, the weather of a thaw. If you drew it, the reading is a favorable one, and its counsel is about timing: what to do now that the knot has loosened.

Quick meaning: Hexagram 40, Deliverance (Xiè), means release after a hard stretch. It advises acting promptly if something still needs doing, returning to ordinary life if nothing does, freeing yourself from what holds you down, and not flaunting the relief.

What hexagram 40 looks like

The old text turns the image into a rule: the person of character eases up on mistakes and forgives offenses, the way the spring rain softens the ground. It describes a mood of loosening. It doesn't ask anyone to forgive anyone.

What hexagram 40 means

Deliverance describes the moment after a hard stretch, when the knot loosens. The Judgment is favorable and practical: it's favorable to go southwest (usually read as the open, yielding direction), and then it splits by your situation. If you have nowhere to go, returning to ordinary life is fortunate. If you have somewhere to go, acting early is fortunate. The advice is to move promptly if there's a thing to do, and to settle back if there isn't.

The lines follow the release. The first is the quiet start: no fault. The second catches the sly troubles in the field. The third flaunts what it carries, and draws trouble. The fourth frees the toe, and companions arrive. The fifth has its bonds loosened. The sixth removes the last threat perched out of reach.

What hexagram 40 advises you to do

Act early if something still needs doing, and settle back if nothing does. The Judgment gives both halves. Once the pressure lifts, do the one thing that's waiting, promptly. If nothing's waiting, return to ordinary life.

Free yourself from what holds you down, and don't flaunt the relief. The fourth line frees the toe, and then companions arrive and trust. The third is the one who carries a load in a grand carriage and draws robbers. When things ease, quiet is safer than display.

Check for the last remaining thing, and ease up on faults. On the usual reading, the sixth line is the last threat, high up and out of reach, and removing it leaves nothing unfavorable. And the image is gentle: mistakes forgiven the way rain softens the ground.

Hexagram 40 in love, career, and decisions

In love. Deliverance often appears after a hard patch: a tense stretch, a long argument, a time of strain that's finally easing. Its counsel is about timing and lightness. If something still needs saying or doing, do it promptly (the Judgment). If nothing does, settle back into ordinary life. Free yourself from what's weighing on you (the fourth line), and don't flaunt the relief (the third). The image of forgiving faults is a mood of easing up. It doesn't ask you to forgive anyone, to reconcile, or to stay, and it doesn't predict how the other person will respond. It doesn't say whether to stay or go.

In career. A favorable hexagram for the end of a crunch, a crisis, or a long project. It favors clearing what's waiting promptly, then going back to normal rhythm. The sixth line is the reminder to deal with the last lingering issue, and the third is the caution against showing off a win.

For a decision. If you asked "should I act now?", Deliverance leans yes, promptly, if there's a clear thing to do; if there isn't, settle back. It's a good sign for resolving what's pending, and a caution against display.

Is hexagram 40 good or bad?

The short version: hexagram 40 is favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is fortunate both ways, and the lines are fortunate throughout except the third, which warns against flaunting what you carry.

Past that, the I Ching isn't dealing in "good" and "bad" cards. Deliverance is honest that relief is real, and that it comes with something still to do. So the honest answer is: a good hexagram to draw, and one that rewards prompt, quiet action.

Hexagram 40: yes or no?

The I Ching doesn't give a flat yes or no, but Deliverance's lean is clear: "yes to acting promptly, and to settling back when there's nothing to do; no to flaunting." It splits by what you're actually asking:

• Should I act on it now? — yes, promptly. The Judgment says that if you have somewhere to go, acting early is fortunate.
• Is it okay to just go back to ordinary life? — yes, if there's nothing left to do. The Judgment says returning is fortunate.
• Should I show off the win? — no. The third line carries a load in a grand carriage and draws robbers.

The more useful question Deliverance answers isn't only "yes or no?" but "is there one thing still waiting, or am I done?"

How to read hexagram 40 in a reading

If you've cast hexagram 40, start with the situation it describes: a release after strain. What has loosened, and is there one thing still waiting? Then look at your changing line — it tells you where in the release you stand: the quiet start, catching the sly troubles, flaunting, freeing yourself, bonds loosened, or the last threat. Finally, the resulting hexagram: the state things tend toward as the release settles.

In short: the primary hexagram sets the situation, the changing lines set the action, and the resulting hexagram sets the direction. For the finer mechanics of weighing one or more changing lines, see how to read changing lines.

The changing lines of hexagram 40

The I Ching is also called the Book of Changes. When your cast includes a changing line (an old yin or old yang), that line shows you where in hexagram 40's release the live tension sits. Read the line you've drawn.

(The wording below is a plain-English paraphrase of the traditional line images, not a strict translation from any single edition. A few archaic phrases, including fox, arrow, carriage, toe, and hawk images, are rendered by their underlying meaning.)

• Line 1 — the quiet start. "No fault." The line is a single phrase, and the text gives no more. What to do: let the release begin quietly.
• Line 2 — catching the sly troubles. "In the field he catches three foxes and gets a yellow arrow; steadfast, fortune." In the traditional reading, foxes stand for sly, evasive troubles, and the yellow arrow for acting straight and true. What to do: deal with what's been hiding, directly.
• Line 3 — flaunting what you carry. "Carrying a load while riding in a grand carriage draws robbers; persisting brings regret." The line is about not displaying, or acting beyond, what fits you. It doesn't blame anyone who has been robbed or harmed. What to do: keep it quiet when things ease.
• Line 4 — freeing the toe. "Free the toe, and companions arrive and trust." On the usual reading, it means loosening whatever holds you down, and it isn't about cutting anyone off. What to do: free yourself first, and let the right company come.
• Line 5 — the bonds loosened. "The person of character has their bonds loosened: fortune; there is sincerity toward people of lesser standing." Readings differ on the last phrase: it can mean sincerity shown to them, or that they confirm the release is real. What to do: be open, and let the loosening be real.
• Line 6 — the last threat. "A lord shoots a hawk on the high wall and catches it; nothing is unfavorable." On the usual reading, the hawk is the last threat, perched high and out of reach. What to do: deal with the last thing, and then you're clear.

Related hexagrams

• Hexagram 39, Obstruction (蹇) — the upside-down pair of Deliverance, and the hexagram just before it in the traditional sequence. Turn hexagram 40 over and you get Obstruction. In the traditional sequence, the obstruction comes first, and then its release.
• Hexagram 37, The Family (家人) — the opposite hexagram (every line reversed): where 40 is the loosening, 37 is the holding together of everyday life.
• Hexagram 63, After Completion (既濟) — the nuclear hexagram inside 40. It can be read as the settled order at the hidden center of the release.
• Hexagram 41, Decrease (損) — the next hexagram in the traditional sequence: relief tends to slacken, slackening costs something, and Decrease follows.
• See all 64 in the complete I Ching hexagram guide.

Common mistakes with hexagram 40

• Reading the image of forgiving as an instruction to forgive, reconcile, or stay. The image describes a mood of easing up after a hard stretch. It doesn't ask you to forgive anyone, to reconcile, or to stay, and it doesn't predict how anyone will respond.
• Reading the third line as blaming people who are robbed or harmed. The line is about not displaying, or acting beyond, what fits you. It doesn't say anyone invited what was done to them.
• Assuming the relief means it's all over. The Judgment sorts it: if nothing's left, return to ordinary life; if something is, act promptly. The sixth line is the reminder that the last thing may still be waiting.

FAQ

What does I Ching hexagram 40 mean?Hexagram 40, Deliverance (Xiè), means release after a hard stretch. It advises acting promptly if something still needs doing, returning to ordinary life if nothing does, freeing yourself from what holds you down, and not flaunting the relief.

Is hexagram 40 good or bad?Favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is fortunate both ways, and the lines are fortunate throughout except the third, which warns against flaunting what you carry. It's a good hexagram to draw, and one that rewards prompt, quiet action.

What does hexagram 40 mean in love?Usually appears after a hard patch that's finally easing. It counsels doing what still needs doing promptly, settling back if nothing does, and not flaunting the relief. It doesn't ask you to forgive anyone, to reconcile, or to stay, and it doesn't predict how the other person will respond.

What if I have a changing line in hexagram 40?The changing line tells you where in the release you are. Line 1 is the quiet start; line 2 is catching the sly troubles; line 3 is flaunting what you carry; line 4 is freeing the toe; line 5 is the bonds loosened; line 6 is the last threat.