The Abysmal (Water)

習坎，入于坎窞，凶。

Depth repeats, and the passage descends into the pit within the pit. Misfortune.

Line 1 enters the pit at the floor of lower Water. Changing it to firm makes Lake below Water and yields Hexagram 60, where the opening is bounded by measure.

坎有險，求小得。

Danger remains within the depth. The search finds only something small.

A small gain is possible within the dangerous passage without amounting to escape from it. The distinction keeps limited progress from becoming a claim that the whole situation is resolved. Changing Line 2, the firm lower center, produces Hexagram 8.

來之坎坎，險且枕，入于坎窞，勿用。

Coming and going, danger upon danger. Even the resting place is insecure; one enters the pit within the pit. Do not act.

Both arrival and departure meet an obstruction, and the apparent resting place is insecure. The passage interrupts movement that would only deepen the difficulty. Changing Line 3 produces Hexagram 48; that structural destination does not cancel the original warning.

樽酒簋貳，用缶，納約自牖，終无咎。

Wine in a jar, grain in a companion vessel, with plain earthenware; a modest offering passes through the window. In the end, no fault.

Plain vessels and a modest offering keep the encounter possible under constraint. The window suggests an indirect opening for contact. Changing Line 4 produces Hexagram 47.

坎不盈，祗既平，无咎。

The hollow has not reached fullness; the water comes only to an even level. No fault.

Line 5 is the firm center of upper Water; its hollow is level but not full. Once the line yields, Water becomes Earth and Hexagram 7 places receptive ground above the remaining inner danger.

係用徽纆，寘于叢棘，三歲不得，凶。

Bound with braided cords and confined among thorns; three years pass without release. Misfortune.

Cords and thorns turn the repeated depth into an image of confinement. The stated three years describes the severity of that scene, not a personal sentence or a countdown supplied by the cast. Changing the top line produces Hexagram 59.