I Ching · King Wen 48 of 64
Hexagram 48 — The Well (Jǐng)
- source
- structure
- service
Water (depth and danger) over Wind (gentle penetration)
Meaning
Towns change but the well remains. Tend your inexhaustible source—skills, wisdom, community—and keep the rope and bucket in repair.
Capitals move, dynasties fall, and the well stays where it is — the figure for whatever in your life is a permanent source rather than a passing structure. Its two failure modes are the hexagram's whole diagnostic: a well can be undredged (source neglected) or its rope too short (access broken); the water itself never fails.
Love & Relationships
Return to the deep source of your affection; refresh it, don't relocate it. The love is likely still there at depth; what breaks is the daily apparatus for reaching it — time, rituals, attention. Repair the rope and bucket before concluding the well is dry.
Career & Work
Invest in fundamentals and shared infrastructure everyone drinks from. Invest in the commons everyone drinks from: documentation, tooling, training, the unglamorous infrastructure. And dredge your own well — the core skill that remains when every job title changes.
Advice
Dredge the well: maintain your foundations so all may draw from them. Hold this counsel lightly but seriously: the I Ching describes the shape of the moment, and The Well rewards those who move with that shape rather than against it.
Changing Lines
Changing lines in The Well trace its condition from muddy bottom to clear flow — the old well no birds visit, clear water that no one drinks, the lined well doing no harm, and the top line's uncovered well from which all may draw. A moving line shows the current state of your source and whether the fault lies in the water or the drawing.
Cast your own reading
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Hexagram 48 mean?
- Hexagram 48, The Well (Jǐng), is the hexagram of source, structure, service: Towns change but the well remains.
- What does Hexagram 48 mean for love?
- In love readings, The Well counsels: Return to the deep source of your affection; refresh it, don't relocate it. The love is likely still there at depth; what breaks is the daily apparatus for reaching it — time, rituals, attention. Repair the rope and bucket before concluding the well is dry.
- Is Hexagram 48 a good hexagram?
- In the I Ching no hexagram is simply good or bad — each describes a moment in time and how to meet it well. The Well centers on source and structure, and its outcome depends on following its counsel: Dredge the well: maintain your foundations so all may draw from them. Read as guidance rather than a verdict, it points the way to the best available outcome.