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Hexagram 15 / 64 · Awareness

Hexagram 15Modesty

Let your work be clear without making yourself smaller.

/ Qian
UPPER: EARTH
LOWER: MOUNTAIN

A modern reflection

A way to look at this moment.

Modesty can mean seeing your strengths and limits accurately. You do not need to exaggerate your contribution or hide it. A balanced view leaves room for others and makes correction easier, because your worth is not riding on every outcome.

Sit with this question

Where would a more balanced view of yourself help?

One small practice.

Name one thing you did well and one thing you would do differently.

The image & the structure.

This hexagram places earth above mountain. The lower trigram evokes a place to pause; the upper trigram evokes receptive ground. Consider these as images to explore rather than instructions to follow.

The six lines are read from the bottom upward. A solid line is yang; a broken line is yin. In a coin reading, some lines may change and form a relating hexagram. A hexagram on its own does not specify which lines are changing.

Learn about changing lines →
This page contains original modern reflections, not a translation of the I Ching’s Judgment, Image, or individual line texts. Names vary between translations. About our sources and approach.