Hexagram 43: Breakthrough

Written by Orbitarot · Sources: James Legge, The Yi King (The I Ching), 1882 (judgment and lines); plain readings our own · Updated October 7, 2026

Hexagram 43 in plain words

The lake has risen above heaven. Water is piled up in the sky and must eventually burst, like a cloudburst after building pressure. Five strong lines rise beneath a single weak one at the top, so the strong are ready to push the last obstacle out. Tradition advises announcing the matter openly at the king's court, warning one's own people, and not reaching for weapons.

The point is that breakthrough must be clean. When you finally deal with a long-standing problem, the temptation is to strike hard and personally. But fighting the wrong with the same means it uses only feeds it. Instead, state the truth plainly, rally people who share your aim, and remove the problem through firm, fair action. Watch your own blind spots too: the one weak line at the top can stand for a weakness in yourself. The commentary also links this hexagram to sharing good fortune downward rather than hoarding it. Resolve, openness and generosity are the keys. Act with full commitment, but stay alert, because the danger is not over until it is truly cleared.

The judgment

Kwâi requires (in him who would fulfil its meaning) the exhibition (of the culprit's guilt) in the royal court, and a sincere and earnest appeal (for sympathy and support), with a consciousness of the peril (involved in cutting off the criminal). He should (also) make announcement in his own city, and show that it will not be well to have recourse at once to arms. (In this way) there will be advantage in whatever he shall go forward to.

Translation: James Legge, 1882 (public domain).

The image

(The trigram representing) heaven and that for the waters of a marsh mounting above it form Kwâi. The superior man, in accordance with this, bestows emolument on those below him, and dislikes allowing his gifts to accumulate (undispensed).

From Legge's Appendix II (the Great Symbolism), The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882 (public domain).

In plain words: The lake has risen above heaven and is ready to pour down. Share what you have gained with those around you rather than letting it pile up unused.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your reading. Lines are counted from the bottom.

Line 1 (bottom)

The first NINE, undivided, shows its subject in (the pride of) strength advancing with his toes. He goes forward, but will not succeed. There will be ground for blame.

You push forward with your toes, eager but unready. Going ahead when you are not equal to the task is a mistake.

Line 2

The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject full of apprehension and appealing (for sympathy and help). Late at night hostile measures may be (taken against him), but he need not be anxious about them.

There is a cry of alarm, and arms may appear in the night. Because you are prepared and alert, there is nothing to fear.

Line 3

The third NINE, undivided, shows its subject (about to advance) with strong (and determined) looks. There will be evil. (But) the superior man, bent on cutting off (the criminal), will walk alone and encounter the rain, (till he be hated by his proper associates) as if he were contaminated (by the others). (In the end) there will be no blame against him.

Showing your anger in your face invites trouble. The wise person stays firm and goes alone through the rain, getting splashed and misunderstood, yet there is no blame.

Line 4

The fourth NINE, undivided, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped, and who walks slowly and with difficulty. (If he could act) like a sheep led (after its companions), occasion for repentance would disappear. But though he hear these words, he will not believe them.

Your thighs have no skin and walking is hard. If you let yourself be led like a sheep, regret would fade, but you are unlikely to listen to that advice.

Line 5

The fifth NINE, undivided, shows (the small men like) a bed of purslain, which ought to be uprooted with the utmost determination. (The subject of the line having such determination), his action, in harmony with his central position, will lead to no error or blame.

Clearing weeds needs firm resolve, since they keep growing back. Stay on the middle path and you remain free of blame.

Line 6 (top)

The sixth SIX, divided, shows its subject without any (helpers) on whom to call. His end will be evil.

There is no warning cry, and in the end trouble comes. Do not ignore a problem just because it has gone quiet.

Related hexagrams

All three relations have traditional Chinese names (cuo gua for the opposite, zong gua for the inverse, hu gua for the nuclear). Many modern readers use the opposite as the shadow side of a situation, the inverse as the same moment seen from the other side, and the nuclear hexagram as its inner core.

If one line changes

With a single changing line, hexagram 43 turns into:

Learn more: what the I Ching is, how to read changing lines, the eight trigrams, how to cast with coins or yarrow.

Hexagram 43 in love and relationships

In love, something unspoken may need to be named. Speak honestly and calmly about what needs to change, without blame or drama, and do not let a resolved issue creep back in.

Hexagram 43 for work and decisions

At work, it is time to address a lingering problem directly. Raise it openly, get support, and deal with it fairly and decisively rather than through a quiet war.

Questions