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Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart
剝 · Bō
Splitting Apart. It is not favorable to go anywhere.Judgment 卦辭
The mountain rests on the earth: the image of Splitting Apart. Those above ensure their position only by giving generously to those below.Image 象辭
Core Meaning of Hexagram 23
Hexagram 23 is collapse: dark lines rising, the structure stripped from below like a bed losing its frame, a mountain eroding onto the plain. What was over-extended is falling away — relationships, positions, schemes that lost their base long ago. The counsel is unambiguous: do not go anywhere, do not start anything, do not fight the demolition.
Hexagram 23 in a Reading
In a reading, something is ending; read the walls honestly. Your task is not rescue but non-resistance and survival: rest low, spend nothing, keep the core intact. What splits apart now was already hollow — the fall is honest even when it hurts. Stillness during the collapse is what preserves the seed; hexagram 24, Return, is literally the next turn of the wheel.
Common Questions
What does hexagram 23 mean?
Hexagram 23 is collapse: dark lines rising, the structure stripped from below like a bed losing its frame, a mountain eroding onto the plain. Read the full meaning above, or cast your own reading with our free online I Ching coins.
What is the structure of hexagram 23?
Hexagram 23 is built from the trigram Mountain above and Earth below — binary 000001 read from the bottom line to the top. Splitting Apart is King Wen number 23 of the 64 hexagrams.
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Other Hexagrams with Trigram Mountain Above
Keywords: i ching hexagram 23, hexagram 23 meaning, splitting apart, bo, mountain on earth, collapse, deterioration, letting go, falling away