Hexagram 23: Stripping Away
By Wendy Zhang, Founder of Solacely · Updated
剝 · Bō
It is not favorable to go anywhere.
The judgment
不利有攸往。
It is not favorable to go anywhere.
The image
山附地上，剝；上以厚下，安宅。
The mountain rests on the earth: stripping away. Those above secure their homes by being generous to those below.
Mountain stands on Earth, but five yielding lines push up beneath a single strong line at the top. It pictures a structure eroding from the base, a time when the weak gain ground and the strong is undermined.
What Stripping Away means
Bo shows a time of erosion. Five yielding lines rise from below toward the single strong line at the top, like rot creeping up the legs of a bed until it reaches the person lying on it. The judgment is plain: it is not the time to go forward. Conditions are against bold action, and pushing will only speed the decline. Commentators read this as accepting the season: when things are being stripped away, the wise person stays quiet, protects the core and waits. The Image offers a constructive response. Those in higher positions secure their place by strengthening the base, treating those below generously. For you, this hexagram may point to loss, decline, or something slowly falling apart. It is honest about that, but not hopeless: the top line shows a seed fruit that survives to sprout again. Protect what is essential, let go of what is failing, and avoid fighting the tide.
In love and relationships
A relationship may feel worn down by small problems or neglect. Do not force big moves now. Instead, attend to the foundations: kindness, honesty, everyday care. If single, this may be a time to rest and heal rather than pursue. What is real will survive this phase.
At work
Conditions may be deteriorating, through budget cuts, eroding support or internal friction. Avoid major new initiatives. Protect your essential work, strengthen relationships with your team and look after those who depend on you. Stay steady and wait for conditions to improve.
The six lines
Read a line when it is a changing line in your cast (a 6 or a 9).
剝牀以足，蔑貞凶。
The bed is split at the legs. Integrity is undermined. Misfortune.
Erosion starts at the foundation. Small things are going wrong at the base, in routines, trust or basic support. If you ignore them, the damage will spread. Pay attention to the earliest signs of trouble and protect your principles before the problem grows. Repair the small cracks while they are small.
剝牀以辨，蔑貞凶。
The bed is split at the frame. Integrity is undermined. Misfortune.
The damage is now closer, reaching the frame of the bed. Support is thinning, and you may feel isolated, with no strong ally nearby. This is serious. Do not cling to a crumbling situation or compromise your values to keep it going. Be cautious and keep your center.
剝之，无咎。
Stripping away among them. No blame.
This yielding line is the only one with a strong partner, the line at the top. You break away from the group that is eroding things and side with what is good. That separation may feel uncomfortable or lonely, but it is right. Standing apart from decline keeps you free of blame.
剝牀以膚，凶。
The bed is split up to the skin. Misfortune.
The erosion has reached you directly. This is the hardest point, where loss is felt personally. There is little to do but endure and protect yourself as best you can. Accept help, minimize further harm, and trust that this phase will pass. Do not take on new risks now.
貫魚，以宮人寵，无不利。
A string of fish. Favor comes through the court ladies. Nothing that is not favorable.
As the yielding ruler, you lead the weak lines in an orderly line, like fish on a string, toward the strong line above. Instead of attacking it, you show it respect and loyalty. Graceful cooperation with what is strong turns decline into benefit. Order and courtesy restore balance.
碩果不食，君子德車，小人剝廬。
A great fruit remains uneaten. The noble person receives a carriage; the small person’s house is stripped bare.
At the top, the strong line survives like a seed fruit that will sprout again. Integrity endures even after loss. If you hold to your values, people will rally to you. Those who only tear things down end up with nothing. Protect the seed of what is good.
Advice
Do not push forward now. Protect the core, strengthen your foundations and let go of what is falling away.
A question to reflect on
What is falling away in my life, and what essential thing do I most need to protect?