Hexagram 23
Splitting Apart
剥 (Bō)
Mountain over Earth
Hexagram 23 represents a time of decline, erosion, and disintegration where inferior forces gradually undermine what has been built. This hexagram symbolizes the natural cycle of decay that precedes renewal, teaching us the wisdom of yielding gracefully during periods when circumstances work against us. Like a mountain being worn down by natural forces, this is a time for strategic withdrawal, patience, and preservation of core values rather than futile resistance. Understanding when to retreat and conserve energy is essential wisdom for navigating life's inevitable cycles of decline and regeneration.
Key Concepts
The Judgment (卦辞)
Translation: "Splitting Apart. It does not further one to go anywhere."
Hexagram 23 reveals a critical period when the forces of decline are ascendant and active resistance proves counterproductive. This hexagram teaches the profound wisdom of recognizing when circumstances have turned unfavorable and when forward movement only accelerates loss. The image shows five yin lines gradually eroding the single yang line at the top, symbolizing how inferior elements systematically undermine superior ones when conditions favor dissolution. During such times, the wise person understands that preservation rather than advancement becomes the primary objective, and that yielding to inevitable cycles demonstrates strength rather than weakness in character and judgment.
The counsel against going anywhere reflects deep understanding of natural cycles and timing in human affairs. Just as a farmer does not plant seeds during winter's frozen ground, we must recognize seasons when our efforts will be wasted or even harmful to our long-term interests. This hexagram asks us to cultivate patience, maintain our integrity quietly, and wait for the natural turning of the cycle when growth becomes possible again. The splitting apart is temporary, but resisting it wastes precious resources needed for future renewal.
The Image (大象传)
上以厚下安宅。
Translation: "The mountain rests on the earth: the image of Splitting Apart. Thus those above can ensure their position only by giving generously to those below."
The image presents the mountain resting upon the earth, yet vulnerable to gradual erosion from below, offering profound insight into the nature of power, position, and sustainable leadership. This hexagram teaches that those in superior positions must actively nurture and support their foundation, for neglect allows the base to crumble and the entire structure to collapse. The mountain appears solid and permanent, yet without proper care for the earth that supports it, even the mightiest peak will eventually be worn away. This wisdom applies to organizations, relationships, and personal development where maintaining strong foundations requires continuous attention and generosity toward supporting elements.
The superior person learns from this image to strengthen their position not through domination or extraction, but through generous support of those who form their foundation. In times of decline, this means sharing resources, maintaining goodwill, and ensuring that the base remains stable even as upper structures may need to be reduced. By enriching those below and securing one's dwelling through care for fundamentals, we create resilience against erosive forces and prepare the ground for eventual renewal and reconstruction when favorable times return.
The Six Lines (六爻)
Six at the Beginning (初六)
Bottom line - Yin
"The leg of the bed is split. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune."
The erosion begins at the foundation, where damage is least visible but most dangerous to overall stability. This line warns that the splitting apart process has commenced at the base level, undermining support structures that everything else depends upon. When you notice foundational problems emerging, recognize this as the beginning of a larger pattern of decline. Address fundamental issues immediately or prepare to withdraw from unstable situations before collapse becomes inevitable and escape impossible.
Six in the Second Place (六二)
Second line - Yin
"The bed is split at the edge. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune."
The deterioration advances upward from the foundation to the frame itself, indicating that damage is spreading and becoming more visible. This line shows the progressive nature of decline when initial warnings go unheeded. The situation grows more precarious as supporting structures continue to weaken. Recognize that persistence in maintaining the status quo now leads to greater loss. Strategic withdrawal and preservation of essential resources becomes increasingly urgent as the splitting apart continues its inexorable advance through the structure.
Six in the Third Place (六三)
Third line - Yin
"He splits with them. No blame."
This line offers a moment of choice and potential salvation through decisive separation from declining elements. Unlike the other yin lines that participate in the erosion, this position allows for conscious disengagement from the destructive process. By recognizing the pattern of decline and choosing to split away from inferior influences, you avoid being pulled down with them. This requires courage to break from the majority and wisdom to distinguish between loyalty and foolish attachment to sinking situations.
Six in the Fourth Place (六四)
Fourth line - Yin
"The bed is split up to the skin. Misfortune."
The splitting apart now reaches the personal level, directly affecting your well-being and immediate circumstances. This line indicates that decline has progressed beyond structural issues to impact you intimately and unavoidably. The situation has become acutely dangerous, with erosion touching your core security and comfort. This is a critical moment requiring immediate protective action. Minimize exposure to further damage, preserve whatever can be saved, and accept that significant loss has already occurred. Focus on protecting essential elements rather than attempting to save everything.
Six in the Fifth Place (六五)
Fifth line - Yin
"A shoal of fishes. Favor comes through the court ladies. Everything acts to further."
In the midst of general decline, this line reveals an opportunity for those who align themselves properly with remaining positive forces. Like fish swimming together in organized formation, there is safety and advantage in joining with others who maintain order and propriety during chaotic times. By cultivating relationships with those who still hold influence and demonstrating your own reliability and grace under pressure, you can navigate the difficult period successfully and even gain favor that will prove valuable when renewal begins.
Nine at the Top (上九)
Top line - Yang
"There is a large fruit still uneaten. The superior man receives a carriage. The house of the inferior man is split apart."
The single yang line at the top represents the seed of renewal that survives the period of decline. This line teaches that those who maintain their integrity and superior character through difficult times will be rewarded when the cycle turns. Like a fruit that remains on the tree to provide seeds for future growth, the superior person preserves essential values and wisdom. While inferior elements that caused the decline are swept away completely, those of genuine worth receive support and means to rebuild. This is the promise that decline is temporary and renewal inevitable for those who endure with dignity.
Love & Relationships (爱情)
In romantic relationships, hexagram 23 signals a period of erosion where the foundation may be weakening through accumulated small neglects, unresolved conflicts, or growing incompatibilities. This is not necessarily the end, but it is a serious warning that requires honest assessment rather than denial. If you notice increasing distance, frequent misunderstandings, or a sense that connection is deteriorating, recognize these as symptoms of the splitting apart process. The hexagram counsels against forcing intimacy or making grand gestures to paper over fundamental problems, as these efforts will likely fail and may accelerate the decline.
For those in struggling relationships, this time calls for honest evaluation of whether the foundation can be restored or whether graceful separation serves everyone better. Not all relationships are meant to last forever, and recognizing when a partnership has run its natural course demonstrates maturity rather than failure. If you choose to work on the relationship, focus on rebuilding fundamental trust, communication, and mutual respect rather than superficial fixes. Address root causes of erosion with patience and realistic expectations about the time required for genuine healing.
For singles, hexagram 23 advises against pursuing new romantic connections during this period, as the timing is unfavorable for building lasting bonds. Instead, use this time for self-reflection, healing from past relationship wounds, and strengthening your own foundation. Examine patterns that may have contributed to previous relationship difficulties. When you emerge from this period with greater self-understanding and emotional stability, you will be better prepared to attract and maintain healthy partnerships when favorable conditions return.
Career & Business (事业)
Professionally, hexagram 23 indicates a period of organizational decline, market contraction, or deteriorating work conditions that make advancement difficult or impossible. You may notice increasing dysfunction, resource constraints, political infighting, or leadership failures that undermine productivity and morale. This hexagram strongly advises against launching new initiatives, seeking promotions, or making aggressive career moves during this time. Instead, focus on preserving your professional reputation, maintaining essential skills, and building relationships that will serve you when conditions improve. Document your achievements and keep your resume current in case withdrawal becomes necessary.
For business owners and entrepreneurs, this hexagram warns of market conditions or internal problems that threaten your enterprise's viability. Conduct honest assessment of your business fundamentals without wishful thinking or denial. If erosion is occurring, take decisive action to cut costs, preserve cash reserves, and protect core assets. This may mean scaling back operations, eliminating unprofitable products or services, or even strategic retreat from certain markets. The businesses that survive periods of decline are those whose leaders recognize reality quickly and act decisively to preserve what matters most while letting go of what cannot be sustained.
The key to navigating career challenges during this hexagram is maintaining your professional integrity and competence while avoiding entanglement in declining situations. If your organization or industry is experiencing serious erosion, begin quietly preparing exit strategies while continuing to perform your duties professionally. Network with contacts outside your current situation, develop transferable skills, and build financial reserves. When the time comes to move, you will be prepared. Those who maintain their standards and capabilities through difficult times position themselves advantageously for opportunities that emerge when the cycle turns toward growth again.
Health & Wellness (健康)
Health-wise, hexagram 23 serves as a serious warning about declining vitality, emerging chronic conditions, or the cumulative effects of poor lifestyle habits finally manifesting as symptoms. This is not a time to ignore warning signs or postpone addressing health concerns. The splitting apart in health often begins subtly with decreased energy, minor persistent discomforts, or gradual decline in physical capacity that we rationalize or dismiss. Pay attention to your body's messages and seek professional medical evaluation for any concerning symptoms. Early intervention can prevent minor issues from becoming major health crises.
This hexagram particularly warns against continuing behaviors that undermine your health foundation, such as chronic sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, excessive stress, or substance abuse. These erosive patterns may have been sustainable when you were younger or more resilient, but they now threaten serious consequences. The time has come to eliminate or significantly reduce harmful habits and replace them with health-supporting practices. This may require difficult lifestyle changes, but the alternative is continued deterioration. Focus on rebuilding fundamental health through adequate rest, proper nutrition, stress management, and appropriate medical care.
For those managing chronic conditions, hexagram 23 emphasizes the importance of vigilant disease management and preventing complications. Do not become complacent about treatment protocols or skip medications and appointments. The splitting apart energy means that small lapses in self-care can lead to significant setbacks. Work closely with healthcare providers, monitor your condition carefully, and address any signs of worsening promptly. This is also a time to strengthen your overall health foundation through complementary approaches like improved diet, gentle exercise, and stress reduction to support your body's resilience.
Financial Matters (财运)
Financially, hexagram 23 warns of erosion in your economic foundation through various possible mechanisms including declining income, increasing expenses, poor investment performance, or unexpected financial drains. This is emphatically not a time for aggressive investing, major purchases, or financial risk-taking. The market conditions and personal circumstances favor preservation of capital rather than growth. Review your financial situation honestly and identify where erosion is occurring. Cut unnecessary expenses, avoid new debt, and build or maintain emergency reserves. Those who recognize the unfavorable financial climate and act conservatively will weather this period far better than those who continue spending or investing as if conditions were favorable.
For investors, this hexagram strongly suggests moving toward defensive positions, reducing exposure to volatile assets, and prioritizing capital preservation over returns. Market conditions during splitting apart periods often feature declining values, increased volatility, and systematic erosion of wealth for those who remain fully invested in risky assets. Consider increasing cash reserves, focusing on quality over growth, and avoiding speculative investments entirely. This is not the time to try catching falling knives or buying dips, as the decline may continue longer and deeper than anticipated. Patience and preservation are the watchwords for investment strategy now.
The financial wisdom of hexagram 23 emphasizes distinguishing between temporary setbacks and fundamental deterioration in your economic situation. If income sources are declining due to industry changes, obsolete skills, or structural economic shifts, recognize this as a signal requiring strategic response rather than hoping conditions will improve on their own. You may need to develop new income streams, acquire different skills, or make significant lifestyle adjustments to align expenses with reduced income. Those who adapt proactively to changing financial realities preserve more resources and recover more quickly when favorable conditions return than those who deny reality until crisis forces painful emergency measures.
Personal Growth (个人成长)
In personal development, hexagram 23 represents a period when old patterns, beliefs, or aspects of identity that no longer serve you are breaking down to make space for eventual renewal. This can feel deeply uncomfortable as familiar structures of self-understanding dissolve, leaving you feeling uncertain or unmoored. However, this splitting apart of outdated self-concepts is often necessary for genuine transformation. The challenge is to allow this natural process of dissolution without clinging desperately to what is falling away or collapsing into despair. Recognize that periods of deconstruction precede reconstruction, and that letting go of who you were creates space for who you are becoming.
This hexagram teaches the profound lesson that not all growth is upward and expansive; sometimes we grow through reduction, simplification, and return to essentials. Use this period to identify what is truly core to your being versus what you have accumulated that no longer fits. This might include releasing relationships that have become toxic, abandoning goals that were never truly yours, or letting go of self-images that limit your authentic expression. The splitting apart process, though painful, can be liberating when you cooperate with it rather than resist. What remains after the erosion is what is genuinely solid and valuable in your character and life.
The personal growth work during hexagram 23 involves developing resilience, acceptance, and trust in natural cycles of dissolution and renewal. Practice sitting with discomfort without immediately trying to fix or escape it. Cultivate patience with yourself as old patterns break down and new ones have not yet formed. This liminal space between what was and what will be is where deep transformation occurs, but it requires tolerance for ambiguity and faith that the cycle will turn. Maintain your core values and integrity even as external structures change. Those who navigate this period with grace and self-compassion emerge stronger, wiser, and more authentically themselves.
Timing & Advice (时机与建议)
The timing of hexagram 23 is fundamentally unfavorable for new initiatives, expansion, or aggressive action in any area of life. This is a period for strategic withdrawal, conservation of resources, and patient endurance while erosive forces run their course. The ancient wisdom teaches that there are seasons for planting and seasons for harvesting, but also seasons for lying fallow and allowing the field to rest. We are now in such a fallow period where attempts to force growth will fail and waste precious resources. Accept this reality without bitterness or frustration, understanding that the cycle will turn and favorable conditions will return, but only after this necessary period of decline has completed its natural course.
The primary advice of this hexagram is to preserve what is essential while letting go of what cannot be maintained. This requires wisdom to distinguish between the two and courage to act on that distinction. Protect your core values, essential relationships, fundamental health, and critical resources while releasing attachment to secondary concerns that drain energy without providing real value. Maintain your integrity and character even as external circumstances deteriorate, for these internal qualities are the seeds from which renewal will eventually grow. Avoid the temptation to compromise your principles for short-term advantage, as such compromises weaken your foundation precisely when you need it most.
Finally, hexagram 23 counsels cultivating patience, acceptance, and even equanimity in the face of decline. Resist the urge to struggle against inevitable processes or to blame yourself for circumstances largely beyond your control. Natural cycles include both growth and decay, and experiencing the latter does not indicate personal failure. Use this time for reflection, rest, and preparation for the renewal that will follow. Study what led to the current decline so you can build more wisely when the opportunity comes. Those who maintain their composure and learn from difficult periods position themselves to thrive when favorable conditions return, while those who panic or despair waste the lessons this challenging time offers.