47. Exhaustion
Exhaustion is hexagram 47 of the 64 in the I Ching, also known as the Book of Changes (in Chinese Kùn, 困).
Also known as: Oppression.
Exhaustion shows what remains when pressure can no longer be carried by show.
Core image
This hexagram is about being pressed thin: scarcity, confinement, a load that narrows what you can do. You are short of something — means, room, recognition, breath. But this is more than lack. The real question is what keeps its dignity when there is no longer slack to hide behind.
Tension
The tension breaks at the point where the usual reserves run out. You can no longer coast on bravado, routine, or support from outside. That is when it shows whether the inner line stays straight as the walls close in.
Distortion
Exhaustion goes wrong when it curdles into self-pity, bitter theater, or hard cynicism. Then the strain is no longer carried but smeared across everyone in reach. What was already tight turns murky too.
Stance
Keep the inner line straight, and spend no strength complaining that the room is small. Look for plainness, fidelity, and a way of speaking that does not beg for pity. Exhaustion is not glorified here — it is tested for dignity.
Closing line
When the room narrows, you find out whether your core can stand straight with nothing holding it up.
Plain-language entrances.
Derived addresses for this hexagram. They help search and recognition, but do not change the source meaning.
hexagram 47 vastlopen uitputting
Hexagram 47 gaat over druk, beperking en standvastigheid wanneer gewone uitwegen weinig ruimte geven.
druk zonder forceren
Druk zonder forceren betekent standvastig blijven terwijl directe uitwegen beperkt zijn.
Changing lines of hexagram 47
- Line 1. At the start the strain is still raw and felt in the body. The pressure is direct and there is little room to move. This is exactly when needless agitation has to be reined in.
- Line 2. Here some support exists, but not in the form or timing you would have chosen. That can feel demeaning. Still, the line asks for dignified acceptance, without bending on the inside.
- Line 3. At this point you jam yourself with clumsy movement in an already narrow place. The exhaustion only stiffens. Not every extra shove is real effort; sometimes it is only friction.
- Line 4. Here relief comes slow and incomplete. That asks for patience in an awkward in-between. You may feel the delay without letting it turn you bitter.
- Line 5. This line shows a center that does not fully collapse under pressure. There is limit, but no inner surrender to humiliation. So the exhaustion stays hard, yet does not break you apart.
- Line 6. When exhaustion hits its furthest edge, the pull is to read everything as a permanent cage. Then you see the opening too late. This line asks for one last shift in stance, so the confinement no longer holds as absolute.
Related hexagrams
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 47
What does hexagram 47, Exhaustion, mean in the I Ching?
Exhaustion shows what remains when pressure can no longer be carried by show. This hexagram is about being pressed thin: scarcity, confinement, a load that narrows what you can do. You are short of something — means, room, recognition, breath. But this is more than lack. The real question is what keeps its dignity when there is no longer slack to hide behind.
What does hexagram 47 (Exhaustion) ask of you?
The tension breaks at the point where the usual reserves run out. You can no longer coast on bravado, routine, or support from outside. That is when it shows whether the inner line stays straight as the walls close in.
Read what is in motion in your situation.
A hexagram only takes on meaning in relation to your own question. Ask one and read what appears.