Hexagram 40
Deliverance
解 (Xiè)
Thunder over Water
Hexagram 40 represents liberation, release, and the resolution of difficulties. This hexagram symbolizes the moment when tension dissolves and obstacles are removed, like thunder breaking through after a storm. It embodies the energy of freedom emerging from constraint, teaching us about the proper timing for action after periods of difficulty. Deliverance comes when we understand that release requires both the power to break free and the wisdom to know when complications have naturally run their course, allowing us to move forward unburdened into new possibilities.
Key Concepts
The Judgment (卦辞)
Translation: "Deliverance. The southwest furthers. If there is no longer anything where one has to go, return brings good fortune. If there is still something where one has to go, hastening brings good fortune."
Hexagram 40 teaches us about the critical moment of liberation when difficulties dissolve and freedom becomes possible. This hexagram represents the thunderclap that breaks tension, the release of pressure that has built up during challenging times. Deliverance is not merely escape but a natural resolution that comes when obstacles have served their purpose and the time for movement has arrived. The wisdom here lies in recognizing when to act decisively and when to simply return to normalcy. After periods of hardship, we must assess whether further action is necessary or whether restoration of equilibrium is the appropriate response to newfound freedom.
The reference to the southwest indicates moving toward what is receptive and yielding, suggesting that deliverance comes through releasing rigidity rather than forcing solutions. When complications naturally resolve themselves, the superior person does not create new problems through unnecessary action. However, if genuine tasks remain, swift and decisive movement is essential. This hexagram reminds us that freedom carries responsibility—we must use our liberation wisely, neither clinging to past difficulties nor rushing thoughtlessly into new entanglements, but moving with clarity and purpose.
The Image (大象传)
君子以赦过宥罪。
Translation: "Thunder and rain set in: the image of Deliverance. Thus the superior person pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds."
The image of thunder and rain working together represents the natural process of release and cleansing. Thunder breaks the tension in the atmosphere while rain washes away accumulated dust and impurities, creating freshness and renewal. This powerful natural metaphor teaches us that deliverance involves both the dramatic breaking of constraints and the gentle washing away of residue from past difficulties. The superior person observes this natural process and applies its wisdom to human affairs, understanding that true liberation requires releasing not only external obstacles but also internal resentments, grudges, and the weight of past mistakes.
By pardoning mistakes and forgiving misdeeds, we participate in the cosmic process of deliverance. Holding onto grievances keeps us bound to the past, while forgiveness liberates both others and ourselves. This does not mean condoning harmful behavior, but rather releasing the emotional and spiritual burden that prevents forward movement. Like the earth refreshed after a thunderstorm, we emerge renewed when we let go of what no longer serves us, creating space for new growth and possibilities.
The Six Lines (六爻)
Six at the Beginning (初六)
Bottom line - Yin
"No blame."
At the beginning of deliverance, simply being free from entanglement is sufficient. This line counsels against overreaching or attempting grand gestures immediately after release from difficulty. Rest in your newfound freedom without guilt or the need to prove anything. The absence of blame indicates that you have navigated challenges appropriately and now deserve peace. Allow yourself time to recover and adjust to liberation before taking on new responsibilities or ventures. Quiet restoration is the wisest course.
Nine in the Second Place (九二)
Second line - Yang
"One kills three foxes in the field and receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune."
This line represents the need to eliminate cunning obstacles and deceptive influences that remain even after initial deliverance. The three foxes symbolize lingering problems that require skillful handling. The yellow arrow represents the means and clarity needed to address these issues directly and honestly. Your perseverance in removing these subtle hindrances will bring lasting good fortune. Do not assume that initial freedom means all problems have vanished; remain vigilant and address remaining complications with precision and determination.
Six in the Third Place (六三)
Third line - Yin
"If a man carries a burden on his back and nonetheless rides in a carriage, he thereby encourages robbers to draw near. Perseverance leads to humiliation."
This line warns against inappropriate behavior during deliverance. Assuming positions or privileges beyond your genuine station invites trouble and undermines your liberation. The image of carrying burdens while riding in a carriage represents contradictory behavior that signals confusion about your true position. Such inconsistency attracts problems and creates vulnerability. Use your freedom wisely by acting with integrity and appropriateness. Pretension or overreaching will only bring new difficulties. Remain authentic and humble in your newly liberated state.
Nine in the Fourth Place (九四)
Fourth line - Yang
"Deliver yourself from your great toe. Then the companion comes, and him you can trust."
This line advises separating from inferior associations that hold you back from true deliverance. The great toe represents connections that seem minor but actually impede your progress. By releasing these limiting relationships or habits, you create space for genuine companions who support your growth. Sometimes deliverance requires difficult choices about whom to keep close. Trust will develop naturally with those who share your values and direction. Free yourself from what weighs you down, even if it seems insignificant, and better connections will emerge.
Six in the Fifth Place (六五)
Fifth line - Yin
"If only the superior man can deliver himself, it brings good fortune. Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest."
The ruler's position emphasizes that true deliverance comes from within and through one's own efforts. You cannot be freed by others; you must liberate yourself through clarity, determination, and right action. When you demonstrate genuine commitment to your own freedom and growth, even those who previously doubted or opposed you will recognize your sincerity. Your self-deliverance serves as proof of your character and seriousness of purpose. Lead by example, showing through your actions that liberation is possible through personal responsibility and integrity.
Six at the Top (上六)
Top line - Yin
"The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He kills it. Everything serves to further."
At the culmination of deliverance, this line represents the final removal of a dangerous obstacle that threatens from a position of advantage. The hawk on the high wall symbolizes a remaining threat that must be eliminated decisively. Your position now allows you to address this final challenge effectively. With skill and determination, you can remove this last impediment to complete freedom. Success here brings comprehensive benefit, as nothing remains to hinder your progress. Act with confidence and precision to secure total deliverance.
Love & Relationships (爱情)
In matters of the heart, hexagram 40 signals the resolution of relationship tensions and the opportunity for renewed connection. If you have been experiencing difficulties with a partner, this is the time when misunderstandings clear and communication flows more freely. The thunderstorm has passed, leaving the air fresh and clean. For couples who have weathered challenges together, deliverance brings relief and the chance to rebuild on stronger foundations. Release resentments, forgive past hurts, and embrace the freedom to love without the weight of accumulated grievances. This hexagram encourages you to let go of patterns that have kept you stuck in cycles of conflict or distance.
For those seeking love, deliverance indicates freedom from past relationship baggage that has prevented new connections. You are released from old patterns, former heartbreaks, or limiting beliefs about romance. This liberation creates space for authentic relationships based on who you are now, not who you were. Approach new connections with openness and without the defensive armor built from past disappointments. The energy of this hexagram supports fresh starts and genuine encounters unburdened by history. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and present with potential partners.
If you are in a relationship that has become constraining or unhealthy, hexagram 40 may indicate the time has come for liberation through honest conversation or, if necessary, separation. Not all deliverance means staying together; sometimes freedom comes through releasing what no longer serves mutual growth. Trust your inner wisdom about whether your relationship needs renewal or release. Whatever the case, act with clarity, compassion, and decisiveness. Avoid prolonging situations that have naturally reached their conclusion, but also do not hastily abandon what can be genuinely restored.
Career & Business (事业)
Professionally, hexagram 40 represents breakthrough moments when obstacles that have hindered your career progress suddenly dissolve. Projects that were stalled move forward, approvals that were delayed come through, and complications that seemed intractable resolve themselves. This is an excellent time to capitalize on newfound momentum and freedom of action. If you have been feeling trapped in your current position or constrained by organizational politics, deliverance brings opportunities to move beyond these limitations. Take decisive action on career goals that were previously blocked, but do so with wisdom rather than reckless haste. The path is now clear for advancement.
For entrepreneurs and business owners, this hexagram signals the resolution of challenges that have been consuming energy and resources. Legal issues may settle, financial pressures may ease, or problematic partnerships may reach natural conclusions. Use this period of deliverance to streamline operations, eliminate what is not working, and focus on core strengths. The thunderstorm has cleared the air, revealing what truly matters for your business success. This is also an opportune time to forgive business mistakes—both your own and others'—and move forward without the burden of past failures weighing down future decisions.
In workplace relationships, apply the wisdom of pardoning mistakes and forgiving misdeeds. If you have been in conflict with colleagues or superiors, this is the moment to release grudges and restore productive working relationships. Holding onto workplace resentments only imprisons you in negative patterns. Deliverance comes through letting go and focusing on constructive collaboration. If you are in a leadership position, demonstrate magnanimity by giving team members fresh starts and not holding past errors against them. This creates an atmosphere of trust and renewed energy that benefits everyone.
Health & Wellness (健康)
From a health perspective, hexagram 40 indicates recovery and the release of physical or mental burdens that have been affecting your wellbeing. If you have been dealing with illness or chronic conditions, this hexagram suggests a turning point toward improvement. The body's natural healing processes are activated, and treatments begin to show positive results. This is an excellent time to support your recovery through rest, proper nutrition, and gentle movement. Do not rush the healing process, but trust that deliverance from health challenges is underway. Release anxiety about your condition and embrace the body's innate wisdom to restore balance.
For mental and emotional health, deliverance represents freedom from depression, anxiety, or psychological patterns that have kept you stuck. The thunderstorm of this hexagram can symbolize breakthrough moments in therapy, sudden insights that shift perspective, or the natural lifting of heavy moods. If you have been carrying emotional burdens or trauma, this is a time when release becomes possible through forgiveness, acceptance, or simply allowing yourself to feel and process what has been suppressed. Consider practices that support emotional release such as journaling, counseling, or somatic therapies that help the body let go of stored tension.
This hexagram also counsels releasing unhealthy habits and lifestyle patterns that have been constraining your vitality. If you have been struggling with addictions, compulsive behaviors, or self-destructive patterns, the energy of deliverance supports breaking free. The key is to act decisively when you feel the impulse toward freedom, not delaying or negotiating with old patterns. Seek support from others who can help you maintain your liberation from what harms you. Remember that true deliverance requires both the dramatic break from constraint and the ongoing commitment to living freely and healthfully.
Financial Matters (财运)
Financially, hexagram 40 signals relief from monetary pressures and the resolution of economic difficulties. Debts may be paid off, financial disputes may settle, or income streams that were blocked may suddenly flow again. This deliverance does not necessarily mean sudden wealth, but rather freedom from the constraints and worries that have been dominating your financial life. Use this period wisely by establishing better financial habits and not immediately creating new obligations that would recreate the burden you have just escaped. The relief you feel should motivate prudent management rather than celebratory spending that leads back to constraint.
If you have been trapped in unfavorable financial arrangements, contracts, or partnerships, this hexagram indicates the time is right to seek release. Negotiate exits from situations that drain resources without providing value. Be willing to accept short-term losses if they lead to long-term freedom and better opportunities. Sometimes deliverance requires the courage to walk away from sunk costs and failed investments. Do not let pride or stubbornness keep you bound to financial situations that no longer serve you. Swift, decisive action to free yourself from bad financial entanglements will prove fortunate.
For investments and business ventures, deliverance suggests that risks which seemed dangerous may now resolve favorably, or that you gain clarity about which financial commitments to maintain and which to release. This is not a time for major new financial commitments, but rather for consolidating gains, simplifying your financial life, and ensuring that your resources support your freedom rather than constraining it. Review your financial obligations and eliminate those that provide little value. The goal is financial liberation that allows you to move forward unburdened and with greater flexibility for future opportunities.
Personal Growth (个人成长)
Hexagram 40 represents a powerful moment in your personal development journey when you break free from limiting beliefs, old identities, and psychological patterns that have constrained your growth. This deliverance is not merely intellectual understanding but a visceral release that allows you to embody new ways of being. You may experience this as sudden clarity about who you truly are beneath layers of conditioning, or as the dissolution of fears that have kept you playing small. Embrace this liberation by consciously choosing thoughts, behaviors, and relationships that align with your authentic self rather than defaulting to familiar but limiting patterns.
The image of pardoning mistakes and forgiving misdeeds applies powerfully to self-development. True personal growth requires releasing self-judgment and the burden of past failures. Forgive yourself for mistakes, missed opportunities, and times when you did not live up to your own standards. This self-forgiveness is not about lowering expectations but about freeing yourself from the paralysis that comes from harsh self-criticism. When you release the weight of past errors, you create space for new possibilities and the energy to pursue them. Deliverance from self-imposed limitations is often the most profound freedom available.
This hexagram also teaches that personal growth sometimes requires swift action when opportunities for transformation appear. When you recognize a chance to break free from old patterns, act decisively rather than hesitating or overthinking. The thunderclap of insight must be followed by the rain of action that washes away what no longer serves you. At the same time, know when to simply rest in your newfound freedom without immediately filling it with new projects or goals. Sometimes the greatest growth comes from experiencing spaciousness and allowing your authentic nature to emerge naturally in the absence of constraint.
Timing & Advice (时机与建议)
The timing of hexagram 40 is characterized by the resolution of difficulties and the opening of new possibilities. This is a moment of transition from constraint to freedom, from complication to clarity. The advice is to recognize when deliverance has occurred and to act appropriately—neither clinging to past difficulties nor rushing thoughtlessly into new entanglements. If there is nothing pressing that requires your attention, return to equilibrium and normalcy. If genuine tasks remain, move swiftly and decisively to complete them. The key is discernment about what truly needs doing versus what is merely habitual activity or anxiety-driven busyness.
This hexagram counsels the practice of forgiveness and release as essential to maintaining your deliverance. Holding grudges, nursing resentments, or dwelling on past injustices keeps you bound to what you claim to want freedom from. Make a conscious practice of letting go—of anger, disappointment, regret, and the need to be right. This does not mean forgetting important lessons or allowing harmful behavior to continue, but rather releasing the emotional charge that keeps you imprisoned in the past. When you truly forgive and release, you reclaim the energy that was locked in resentment and make it available for creative, life-affirming purposes.
Finally, use your deliverance wisely by not immediately recreating the conditions that led to your previous constraints. Many people, upon gaining freedom, unconsciously seek out familiar patterns that lead back to limitation because freedom can feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Resist this tendency by staying conscious and intentional about how you use your liberation. Build new habits and relationships that support your freedom rather than undermine it. The thunderstorm has cleared the air and washed the earth clean—now it is your responsibility to cultivate what grows in this freshly prepared ground. Choose wisely, act decisively when necessary, and rest peacefully when action is not required.