Blocked Passage
pǐ · Heaven over EarthWhen the way is blocked, protect your integrity and wait.
否之匪人，不利君子貞，大往小來。
The connection has been cut, and this is no way for people to live. Honest effort does not get far now. What is large is leaving and what is petty is coming in. Stay true, quietly, until things shift.
The six lines
初六：拔茅茹以其彙，貞吉。亨。
Pull the thatch and the roots come up together. Stay with your kind and hold firm, not advancing. That is good, and the way can open.
六二：包承，小人吉，大人否。亨。
You are wrapped in flattery and carried along by it. Small-minded people profit from this. A person of substance accepts the blockage instead and stays free.
六三：包羞。
You are wrapped in shame. What you hold inside does not sit right, and you know it.
九四：有命，无咎，疇離祉。
A clear calling arrives, and there is no fault in following it. As things turn, those who stand with you can share the blessing.
九五：休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，繫于苞桑。
The stoppage is easing, and the person of worth does well. Keep telling yourself this could still collapse, and tie your safety to deep mulberry roots.
上九：傾否，先否後喜。
The block tips over. First comes obstruction, then relief and joy. Even the hardest stoppage does not hold forever.
The I Ching is a tool for reflection. Do not use it as the basis for medical, legal or money decisions.