易經 · I Ching · #15
䷎
Qian · Humbling · Modesty
謙
Modesty — one of the sixty-four archetypal situations in the Book of Changes.
The Judgment
Modesty brings success because it carries things through to the end.
The Image
A mountain hidden inside the earth, so the wise person lowers what is too high and raises what is too low.
How to use it
Stay modest, keep things in balance and do not boast.
Structure
Six lines: 坤 Earth (Kun) above and 艮 Mountain (Gen) below. Lines are read from the bottom up.
Related hexagrams
- ䷉ 10. Treading · Careful Steps — Opposite: every line reversed
- ䷏ 16. Providing-For · Enthusiasm — Reversed: the same lines turned upside down
- ䷧ 40. Taking-Apart · Deliverance — Inner (nuclear): the hidden structure formed by lines 2 to 5
Each BaZi pillar maps to a hexagram through its stem and branch. Coin casting uses a different method — both are valid paths into the Book of Changes. The I Ching is a traditional wisdom text. It describes the character of a moment, not a fixed outcome.